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Armed with chore money and a desire to make a difference, third graders from The Town School on the Upper East Side are stepping up to fight hunger across New York City. As part of City Harvest’s annual “Feed Our Kids Food Drive,” the students used funds they earned doing chores at home to purchase non-perishable food items, AM New York reports—then helped load them into a City Harvest truck on Monday morning outside the D’Agostino at East 80th Street and York Avenue.
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The initiative is part of a long-standing tradition at the independent K-8 school, where community service is woven into the curriculum. But here, the students don’t just collect cans brought from home. According to longtime third grade teacher Karen Mulqueen, who first launched the school’s partnership with City Harvest nearly three decades ago, the model is rooted in giving students ownership over the experience.
“I felt really strongly that I wanted the kids to have some accountability, the kids to feel like they’ve done the work,” Mulqueen told AM New York. “The students learn a lot about food pantries, food shelters, and we integrate it with math and nutrition so the kids really understand the effect of what they’re doing for their community.”
The “Feed Our Kids” food drive—now in its 29th year—runs through Father’s Day and is aimed at getting nutritious, non-perishable food to families who rely on school meals, which are often unavailable over the summer months. The effort is especially critical this year amid rising food costs and recent federal cutbacks that have put additional pressure on local food pantries.
Foster told AM New York that Monday’s delivery of food from The Town School (located at 540 East 76th Street) is likely headed to a pantry in the Bronx—just one of more than 400 locations across the city supported by City Harvest. Since its founding, the nonprofit has delivered millions of pounds of food that would otherwise have gone to waste.
Since beginning their partnership with City Harvest, students at The Town School have donated more than 35,000 pounds of food—an impressive number built one chore and one can at a time.
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