It is common for schools to hold food drives for local charities around the holidays. Every community has needy families, and if every student at a school brings a box or can of food, many of those needs can be met.

But Weedsport Elementary School took its annual food drive an extra step this year - literally. Over the past week, students have walked their donations and personally dropped them off at the Brutus-Sennett Food Pantry. Teachers and school officials hope that the experience instills a sense of charity in the children while they support a local resource.

“It puts a little bit more of a personal face on the whole thing,” said Tim Cowin, principal at Weedsport Elementary. “We wanted the students to actually talk to people and gain that firsthand knowledge.”

Since last Monday, each of the school's 22 classes has walked the few blocks from the school to the food pantry carrying boxed or canned goods. They were given a tour of the food pantry, and the people working there explained how the organization works.

Cowin said that he thought this year's program had more of an impact than in previous years.

“There used to be teachers who would bring the food down, and we would show a slide show (to the students),” Cowin said. “The hope is that this would make them see how this place is helpful to the community, and they would go home and tell their parents and hopefully bring in more items after their visit.”

While the students visited the pantry last week, the school's food drive lasts through Friday.

The Brutus-Sennett Food Pantry has been serving needy people in the Weedsport area for more than 17 years. The organization combines the effort of four area churches, collecting food items and other donations and allowing clients to come and take food on two Mondays each month.

The pantry may serve anywhere from a dozen to more than 40 clients on a Monday, and that number is often highest around the holidays, said Marguerite Dow, chairperson on the food pantry committee.

Dow said that the organization is fortunate to enjoy a high level of support from the community, but it is rare for people to actually come by the pantry to see how the place is run.

“We all enjoyed talking with (the students),” Dow said. “A lot of people do not know that there even is a food pantry that exists here. Many of the students were surprised about how many clients we served.”

Lynn Cheche Baker, a third-grade teacher at Weedsport Elementary, said that her classes have participated in food drives for years. When the students personally see how their donations effect the community, more of them are bound to participate in the future - both through school and on their own.

Not a single student in her class forgot to bring a donation, Cheche Baker said.

“It becomes more meaningful because it helps the children realize what really does happen to their donations,” she said. “They can physically see the abundance of food that the pantry hands out, which is very powerful. It is inspiring to hear all the work these folks do to help others in need.”

And the children also learned that there is a resource for them if they ever need to use it, she added.

“The people at the pantry touched on being both volunteers in the community and being recipients of the goods (when they talked to the kids),” Cheche Baker said. “In addition to being a place where they can help out, this is a place where they can come if there is a need.

Cowin said that he is not sure if the school will have a food walk every year, but said it could become an event that happens every other year. Either way, there is no end in sight to the annual food drive.

“Whenever we can help the community, which has helped us so much, and when we can bring everyone together for a common cause,” Cowin said, “it is always a wonderful thing.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net