Palos West Students Collect Over 3,500 Donations for Local Food Pantry

Every year during the week leading up to the Superbowl, students at Palos 118’s West Elementary host a non-perishable food drive to benefit local food pantries.

Students in each grade also compete to see who can collect the most donations for the school’s “Souper” Bowl of Caring. This year, Palos West’s fourth grade brought in the most donations, winning a spring tailgate party. All told, Palos West students collected 3,581 donations for the Palos Township Food Pantry program.

Principal Jennifer Peloquin said that the community outreach event has been a Palos West tradition for over 20 years and is a great way for students to get involved by helping their community. She said that student council members make a final count of the donations and then help to load the food on the truck heading to the food pantry.

“It was great to see the enthusiasm from not only the students, but the staff and community members as well,” said Mrs. Peloquin.

“Student Council members created skits, and videos were posted throughout the week. You could find staff and students checking the “Souper” Bowl bulletin board daily to see who was in the lead. The week ended with a celebration football spirit lunch for students and a “Souper” Bowl staff luncheon complete with soup and chili! We are grateful for everyone’s generosity,” she said.