Templeton Middle School (TMS) students collected more than 2,500 boxes of cereal to be donated to Sussex Outreach Services helping feed local families and raising awareness of food insecurity in their community.
“Wow, what a fantastic food collection,” said Sussex Outreach Services Executive Director Jennifer Waltz. “Cereal is one of our most popular food pantry items and this donation will keep us stocked for months! What a spectacular example of the ‘Bulldog Way’ by being engaged in and caring for those in the community. We saw a lot more people needing food over the past several months and TMS is helping us meet that need. Thank you so much Bulldog students, staff and families!”
The TMS Cereal Bowl is a bracket tournament style competition between advisement teachers. The advisement classes that collect the most full-size cereal boxes win their own Super Bowl style party.
“Each year the Templeton Middle School Student Council hosts some type of food donation program to help restock the Sussex Outreach Services after the holiday season,” explains Templeton Middle School Student Council Advisor Mary Caucutt. “This year we have joined forces with DECA and are hosting the Cereal Bowl.”
Templeton Middle School Teacher Julie Odefey’s students learned a valuable lesson in community involvement when a local company made a large donation. Odefey recalls the day she brought the donated boxes into her classroom “I had students pop their heads into class and then run out of the room to ask their classmates if they had seen ALL THE CEREAL! One hundred twenty boxes of cereal takes up a significant amount of room, and the students were shocked!”
Nature’s Path, a Sussex based company known for its breakfast cereals, donated 120 boxes of cereal to the TMS Cereal Bowl when Plant Manager Cesar Compean learned of the food drive. “As a family-owned, rooted in sustainability, and local organic food business, we believe everyone has the right to quality organic food,” explains Compean. “It’s our pleasure and privilege to support our local communities whenever possible.”
Odefey’s students continued to bring in boxes of cereal even after their class was officially eliminated from the competition. “They understand that although winning is fun, the best part of this will be the sheer number of boxes of cereal we will be able to bring to the food pantry. This will hopefully go a long way in helping families in need,” says Odefey.