Saginaw schools team up to stop hunger - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(11/27/12) - Students across the Saginaw Public School District are teaming up to help stop hunger in their community. The district began the campaign this week with a goal to feed as many families as possible.

It started as a service project at Handley Elementary School in October.

"We wanted students to know that hunger is a problem year round, not just in November for Thanksgiving or December for Christmas," said Shannon Main of Handley Elementary.

Students have begun bringing in items to feed their community and their actions quickly got the attention of administrators, who decided to make a district-wide challenge. They call it the Stop the Hunger Campaign. The campaign comes at a time when many charities are struggling to provide for people in need.

"This campaign is designed to feed every child within the Saginaw Public School area," said Cedric Hodo, General Manager of Sodexo Magic at Saginaw Public Schools.

Students from every school in the district are now collecting food. It's transported by Sodexo Magic to Hidden Harvest, an organization that distributes food free of charge to pantries and soup kitchens across the county.

"It is still hard time for an awful  lot of families in the Saginaw county area," said Richard Premo, president and CEO of Hidden Harvest.

The action the students are taking is positively impacting their community.

"Any food items that we can collect and get to people who need it is a good thing, and these kids are doing a good thing," Premo said.

The District says students at Thompson Middle School collected 400 pounds of food in just two days. That's enough to feed more than 1,000 people. The campaign runs through March and the elementary, middle and high school that collects the most food will each be awarded prizes.