By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Union Grove Union High School students decided to step a bit farther out of their comfort zone this fall to push their Stuff the Bus food drive to new levels.
After collecting 1,000 pounds of food last year for the Racine County Food Bank, the Student Council and staff advisors – along with school security officer Doug Berg – decided to extend the collection from a single week to a full month.
While the school hasn’t got a clear idea of just how much food has been donated – just estimates – two classroom storage areas are full and it looks like the bus in front of the high school will be pretty full come Dec. 22.
“Currently, we have one office room full of food and after the donation (Monday), I can bet the other storage office is also at max,” said student advisor Kim Wendt in an email.
The Stuff the Bus project got a big boost Monday when two area businesses, a service club and an individual combined to give a large donation. The Union Grove Piggly Wiggly had an opportunity to match a donation made by JAMES Properties and Holdings.
As Piggly Wiggly explained on its website, “one thing led to another,” and the Union Grove Kiwanis Club also matched the donation, along with a donation by Andrew Connolly.
Wendt estimated that students had contributed 600 different items by the week of Thanksgiving – and the school hasn’t counted again.
There are 24 active student council members involved in the project, with sophomores Emily Rasmussen and Savannah Melby taking the lead.
Wendt said that donations continue to come in from members of the community, while classrooms are also still adding to the donation total. All non-perishable food items are being accepted.
Dousman Transport donated the bus that has been on display now, though food hasn’t been loaded on it yet for fear of items freezing and bursting.
“I have been very happy with the result and now that we have those businesses step up, I hope we’ll have even more,” Wendt said.
Patti Halbach, the assistant to the principal at UGUHS, said the extended period of the food drive has really raised the level of enthusiasm for it.
“It’s been fun to see the response from the community,” Halbach said. “We’ve found bags dropped off just out by the bus, and we’ve had people just bring bags in, from young to elderly.
“It’s been nice to see a good community response,” she added.
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