FRANKLIN -- For at least a decade, it has been a tradition this time of year. With Thanksgiving approaching, the fifth-graders at Davis Thayer Elementary School hoist bags and boxes full of donated food and household items and make a short jaunt - a parade of cheerful and excited good will - over to the Franklin Food Pantry.
On Monday morning, this year's class took their turn at keeping the tradition going - a charitable campaign the students said they look forward to as they work toward their final elementary school year. The delivery of the goods is the culmination of a few weeks of collecting donations from the school community, with students in kindergarten up to fifth grade gradually amassing their contributions until it is time for the fifth grade walk to the pantry.
"I like how we get to walk over to the food pantry, and help people," said Devin Curley, sitting at a table in the school cafeteria Monday morning, bag full of non-perishables dangling from his hands as he waited for the signal to line up and begin the procession.
Beside him, Charlie Souza nodded in agreement. "I think it's great we're donating to the food pantry so people who have a little trouble providing for their families can get help."
"Yeah, I think it's helpful," said Jackson Irwin. "There are a bunch of families in Franklin who don't have enough food, so they can get some at the food pantry."
"It's very nice for the community," agreed Owen Arienti.
The students collected everything from canned vegetables and boxes of pasta to packages of paper towels, toilet paper and large jugs of laundry detergent.
"We collected donations over the course of four weeks," said Jen Violet, a math specialist at the school. "We asked the food pantry what was needed most, and the list included things like coffee and tea, instant pudding, toilet paper, snacks and laundry detergent."
The students collected 517 items, which they mostly carried over to the pantry themselves in boxes, and plastic and paper bags. But for some of the bulkier and heavier items, they enlisted the help of Franklin Patrolman Paul Guarino, a school resource officer at the Franklin Police Department - Guarino packed the trunk of his police vehicle with detergents and packages of paper goods and drove them over, stopping to see the students safely across a crosswalk.
Assistant Principal Stefani Waski said the project has been a staple at Davis Thayer for at least 10 years, and each year the students try to top the previous year's number of donations.
"We did beat last year's total this year," she said, though if it was an election it would be a very close one. Last year the total was 501 items.
"A lot were big items this year, like laundry detergent," said fifth-grade teacher Caitlin Colahan.
Principal Kathleen Gerber said she likes the unique opportunity Davis Thayer students have to participate in collecting and personally delivering donations because of the school's proximity to the pantry.
"They get that experience of seeing what the food pantry looks like and seeing how it works in the community," she said.
"It really is a wonderful opportunity for the fifth-graders to see how they can help in the community," agreed Joanna Schomberg, one of the fifth-grade teachers.
At the pantry, Executive Director Erin Lynch and her staff were pleased to see the students arrive with so much to help fill the pantry's shelves.
"Wow!" was the group exclamation as the kids brought in their donations and placed them on the floor scale for weighing before putting them into one of the pantry's rooms for sorting and shelving.
"We serve more than 400 families here in Franklin that need help," Lynch told the students.
She made a point of noting that the pantry's patrons are "families just like yours" who have fallen on difficult times. When bills are pressing, she said, the food budget is often the first to suffer, and the pantry is always there to help out.
"We want to make sure that no one in our town is going hungry," Lynch said, adding, "we try to provide enough that people can get the same kinds of things you an get at the grocery store."
Last year, Lynch said, the pantry gave out more than 200,000 pounds of food. On Monday, the Davis Thayer students added their own to the total for this year: 334.2 pounds.
