By Jason Misner
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, HDSB STAFF

Heather Schottlander was so impressed by the amount of food collected during this week’s massive local community food drive, she wished she could see the faces of those who will benefit by it.

‘I think it’s awesome,” the Grade 11 student from Burlington Central High School said, as piles of food were sorted into huge plastic boxes. “I think it’s a really good experience for the younger kids. I’ve never anything like it in my life.”

Burlington Central High School and its feeder schools are ecstatic to have been part of a massive local hockey-league led community food drive that collected roughly 114,000 pounds of food. That weight is equivalent to around 38 average-sized cars or 3,800 desktop computers.

In partnership with the Burlington Eagles City Rep Hockey Club, the Burlington Barracudas Girls' Rep Hockey Club, local businesses, and Tom Thomson, Lakeshore, and Central public schools, the food drive supported the Salvation Army, Halton Women's Place and Carpenter's Hospice. The food was collected and stored at Burlington Central’s gym before being hauled away by the Salvation Army yesterday (Thursday).

Many Burlington Central high School students helped sort the pound after pound of food that made its way to the Baldwin Street gym over Tuesday and Wednesday. They said it was an eye-opening experience that taught them so much.

Nathaniel Jim, in Grade 9, said the food drive was a great way for people to give back to the community.

“It helps the community grow closer,” he said. “It’s been a good experience.”

Schottlander noted she learned organization and teamwork skills, including how to sort the food, plus how to use the weigh scales.

School staff say students are already vowing to beat the total next year, having been inspired by the donations they saw flow in over a period of two nights.