Brownstown Central High School student council members broke into small groups and headed to different neighborhoods in town.

Going door to door dressed in Halloween costumes, they asked residents if they had any nonperishable items to donate to Anchor House Family Assistance Center and Pantry.

By the end of Tuesday night, the 30 students had collected 1,239 items for the Seymour food pantry that serves Jackson County.

Trick-or-treating for Anchor House has been a student council tradition for more than 10 years, averaging nearly 1,000 items each year.

Melanie Preston, co-adviser of the student council with Katlynn Schnitker, credits a couple of things to the annual food drive’s success.

“One, our community is very giving,” she said. “I feel like we are a close-knit community, and people want to help others. Even though it’s going to the entire county and not just Brownstown, we are a very giving community, and we’ve always had good support with any school activity that we do.”

Also, the students get excited about the event.

“Every year, they revisit events that we do to see what we want to continue to do and what we want to abandon, and every year, this is one of the top activities that students list. It’s never on the chopping block,” Preston said. “I think that says a lot about our students, that they want to help the community, as well, and they like to do community service. I think they just get really excited about participating and helping others.”

Read the full story in Friday’s Tribune and online at tribtown.com.