All of the food gathered by Brownstown Elementary School
Submitted | Macey Stuckwisch
Coloring contest cow picture winners, first through fifth place: Leah Roberts-Marshall (4C), Katara (1E), Kaycee Thompson (3E), Cora Wynn (3D), Bella (2E)
Submitted | Macey Stuckwisch
Coloring contest farm picture winners, first through fifth place: Tori Brown (3D), Emily Lewis (4C), Gracie (1E), Levi Simler (5D), Devin Gray (5A)
Submitted | Macey Stuckwisch
Bulletin board decorating contest winner, Teressa Brown
Submitted | Macey Stuckwisch
This year, Brownstown Elementary School collected 1,451 canned food items in just five days. For the week of March 18, Macey Stuckwisch worked with Paul Ruddick, the school’s makerspace teacher, to make this happen. Makerspace is a stem-based class similar to gym, music, or art, where the students have class once a week.
Paul Ruddick 3D printed pigs and barns for students to purchase throughout the week. Students had coloring contests while both students and staff were encouraged to participate in dress-up days. Instead of a coloring contest, teachers had a bulletin board decorating contest.
Stuckwisch also collaborated with school counselors Denise Stevens and Molly Davis to count, move, and distribute the canned food. Stevens had student council members assist in the initial counting and moving of the canned food items. Davis helped with contacting families in need from our school. Food was distributed to six families.
The six families that came into the school were given a box of protein items and chose other things they needed in a grocery store fashion. In addition, 80 Blessings in a Backpack bags were packed for students in the school.
“Blessings in a Backpack is a program that sends bags with snacks in them to students on Fridays to […] help them make it through the weekend,” Stuckwisch explained. “What I made from the food drive was similar, but not the same. The bag I made contained two packages of ramen noodles, a package of mac and cheese, two cans of chicken noodle soup, a can of green beans, a can of corn, a can of mini raviolis, a ‘fun’ item like apple sauce or oat meal and a ‘protein’ item like peanut butter or canned chicken.”
386 pounds of food was donated to Anchor House in Seymour.
To prepare the cans for the families to pick up, the music teacher Aramatta Schaeffer helped sort them into categories: noodles, protein, fruit, vegetables, and soups.
“I am proud of the many people who helped make this week possible,” said Stuckwisch.
Allison Wheeler’s 4C class made first place and won a pizza party, bringing in 241 cans, and Hanna Hunsucker’s 4D class received a snack party for second place, finishing with 109 cans.
Sponsors of the event included Kay’s Kafe, Premier Ag, Rose Acres, and Snappy Tomato Pizza.