Davis Elementary students host food drive, gather more than 1,800 items

​      Davis Elementary students and teachers who gathered more than 1,800 food items during a student-led food drive earlier this year are, from left, front row: Mateo Rodrigues, Emalee Harris, Thea Hanson, Ava Gnau, Nora Laver, Noah Graham. Middle row: Clara Sandeno, Govanni Garcia-Rodriguez, Benjamin Graham, Beatrice Robinson, Grace Conway, Paul Schubert, Cora Kaltsas. Back row: April Gosselink-Lemke, Instructional Coach; Maggie Lindberg, Gabriel Hernandez-Perez, Ryder Scarcello, Cooper Muckler, Emmett Brown,  Malachi Emerson and Reagan Mackie, fourth grade teacher at Davis Elementary. Submitted photo.

​       Davis Elementary School third and fourth graders learned the importance of making a difference in the lives of others through a student-led community food drive. The food drive, which was held in January and February, was part of a service-based learning project at the school where students learned everything from how to create and work in committees to doing interviews, creating a website and flyer and script creation and phone etiquette. The project included the students learning from community partners like MICA, Grinnell College, Grinnell Food Coalition, The Iowa Kitchen and Tiger Packs. 
        The students set a goal of collecting 500 food items to donate to MICA. They had collection boxes at Davis Elementary and Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools, Drake Community Library, Grinnell Chamber office, GARC, Grinnell Mutual Insurance, Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell College and Hy-Vee. The food drive netted more than 1,800 food items along with monetary donations, which were used to purchase additional food items at Hy-Vee. April Gosselink-Lemke is the instructional coach and Reagan Mackie is a fourth grade teacher at Davis.