On Thursday, Oct. 3, Greenhill partnered with Lovepacs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing food to children, to complete a service project with Middle School students. The students made 2,135 snack bags and decorated 128 boxes for people in need of food in the Carrollton, Farmers Branch and East Lewisville Independent School Districts.
Each Middle School student made five snack bags and each advisory decorated four boxes. After the students had completed the required number of bags, they asked to make more bags and decorate more boxes, doing additional work to assist many kids in getting through the week.
“The way the snack bags work is if a teacher or an administrator notices a student who is food insecure and needs snacks for the week, they give it to them on Monday, so they have snacks throughout the week,” Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement Jessica Chu said.
In September, Christina Wade, co-chapter leader of Lovepacs’ Lewisville ISD East and Metrocrest chapters, came to Greenhill to instruct the students on the service process and answer any of their questions. Wade was also present during the service event to offer support.
This marks the third year in a row that Greenhill Middle School has participated in this project, as it relates to their theme of food insecurity and hunger. The theme was chosen by Chu and Head of Middle School Susan Palmer, and is a topic which will be emphasized in future projects in January and April.
In January, around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Middle School students will make prepackaged mason jars of five different types of beans for food-insecure people to make into a soup after they receive it. It will be given to shelters so they can give it out as a hearty and nutritious meal.
“We do it around MLK Day because we want to remind ourselves that he gave back to his community through service,” Chu said.
In April, Middle School students will get to do a project based on Earth Day. Each grade will have a different project, still focusing on the theme of food insecurity and hunger while centering around things like food waste and recycling
Additionally, these students will be involved in planning and assisting with service events. The Middle School Service Club, which is comprised of fifth and sixth graders, helped with loading trucks with bags and boxes after the event. The Middle School Service Board, consisting of seventh and eighth graders, helped plan the lessons to educate their peers on food insecurity.
One of Chu’s goals is to allow the students to take initiative while helping them get more involved. As a result, service events have been mostly planned and executed by Upper School students.
“Often, a lot of these projects are done by the Upper School Service Board and we are trying to figure out ways to include the Middle School voices,” Chu said.
