MARYSVILLE, Wash. — The students and staff at Marshall Elementary in Marysville delivered a wonderful surprise to their community food bank.
The school wanted to teach kids about citizenship and the potential each person has to impact their community. The staff formulated an idea to help “spring break the cycle of hunger” and had the kids collect 500 boxes of cereal to donate.
“We smashed our goal of 500 boxes and let the students celebrate with a domino event in the hallways,” said Principal Dr. Katy Rudolph. More than 500 boxes were lined up like dominos in a chain reaction that made its way down the halls and across the school.
Two pallets of cereal donations showed up at Marysville Community Food Bank and Executive Director Jim Beaudoin said it was the best kind of surprise and made a huge impact right away.
“It’s almost what we needed to serve every family this week,” said Beaudoin.
The Marysville Community Food Bank has been serving the community for 49 years and the demand is up year over year. The food bank sees about 630 families a week, which is up more than 10% from a year ago, according to Beaudoin. The food bank serves about 50,000 people a year.
They also make home deliveries for seniors and residents who are unable to drive.
“I was actually out shopping for more food like cereal when we got the heads up that our local school was delivering a ton of boxes, so it’s a very welcomed and timely donation,” Beaudoin said.
The Students at Marshall Elementary are back from spring break this week and are celebrating their citizenship effort that filled the shelves for hungry neighbors in need.
“We’re not only proud but super excited we were able to give back to our community and we will continue to look for more ways to do that with the students,” said Principal Rudolph.
The Marysville Community Food Bank is now operating in a grocery store model where guest can shop for the items they need and donations can be made in person or online.