Palmer Junior Middle School students collect over 2,300 canned goods for Palmer Food Bank

WASILLA — Palmer Junior Middle Middle School students and their families recently banded together to collect over 2,300 cans for their annual canned food drive, benefitting the Palmer Food Bank.

“It went very well,” PJSM teacher Linda Jo Klapperich said.

According to Klapperich, the whole school participated. Students helped carry out boxes and load the donated food into the Palmer Food Bank’s trucks Dec. 16.

“It was exciting for them to know all of these food items will stay in the community,” Klapperich said.

In addition to the annual food drive, PJMS teachers and staff also feed the students holiday meals, complete with classic fixings like turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie every year. Klapperich said they held the holiday lunch Dec. 16 and sent the food bank volunteers away with plates of food to enjoy later.

“It was just kind of an added bonus that they came at 11 o’clock when we were having a wonderful lunch,” Klapperich said. “Sometimes we try and do it over Thanksgiving, but this year with everything going on, I’m just glad we did it.”

According to Klapperich, PJMS students spent two weeks collecting cans, making it just in time to help the food bank support families during the holidays. She said a lot of students really stepped up and acknowledged the importance of this annual canned food drive.

“Basically they were saying, ‘we know people need help this time of year and we want to help as much as we can,’” Klapperich said. “It’s so important to teach our students to give back to the community… Especially during these anxious times.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com