Thanksgiving food drives at L-W East, L-W North benefit local food pantries

Students at Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way North high schools collected more than 4,000 non-perishable food items recently, replenishing local food pantries for the holidays.

“It is important for the students to give back to their own community, especially during the holiday season,” said Lincoln-Way East teacher and student council advisor Laura Rycyna.  

“Our students have hearts of gold,” added Lincoln-Way North teacher and student council advisor Jason Pearson. “Every year, they raise the bar, bringing in more donations than the previous year.”

Each school held a food drive in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, encouraging students to bring in a non-perishable food item for the food pantries in the Lincoln-Way area.

Lincoln-Way East sent 1,441 food items and $166 in cash to the FISH organization in Mokena while Lincoln-Way North sent 2,721 items to the Frankfort Township Food Pantry.

The food drives were organized by the student councils at each school.

“The food drives are a great way to get the entire school involved and allows us to give back to our own community,” said Rycyna, who helped students organize the school’s 12th annual Silver Turkey Food Drive the week of Nov. 12.

At Lincoln-Way North, Pearson helped students coordinate the school’s fifth-annual Golden Gobbler Food Drive, which ended with a delivery to the Frankfort Township Food Pantry on Nov. 28.

“Everyone at the pantry was blown away by the amount of goods we delivered,” said Pearson. “Our students and their families are certainly generous when it comes to helping others.”