Dundee students raise food for charity

    DUNDEE—Dundee elementary students, with some help from the community, collected 2,010 cans of food to donate to local charities.
    Kindergarten through sixth grade students had two weeks to bring in cans of food for the SOUPer Bowl drive, organized by teacher Julie Dunkelberger.  She said this was the third year of the can drive and the first time it was open for a full two weeks.  Dunkelberger said the students themselves raised 1,916 cans of food and members of the community donated the rest to reach the 2,010 total.
    The third grade raised the most donations, 492 cans.  The second grade had 327 cans, followed by the fourth grade with 318 cans.  The fifth grade had 264 cans, first grade had 240, kindergarten had 167, and sixth had 94.
    Dunkelberger said she started the drive three years ago, but the SOUPer Bowl was limited to her class, and raised around 300 cans.  She explained that the second year, the whole elementary was included but it was not publicized.  That year, the students collected nearly 500 cans.
    The food will be donated to the Dundee food pantry and the Keuka Housing Council’s LETTS house.  Dunkelberger explained the LETTS house is a home for families that need to move out of their house for a temporary time period.  She said the food will go to making sure the people have something to eat in the transition.
    Dunkelberger added that teachers have used the can donations in the classroom as part of the curriculum.  She said she has used the food for life skills lessons.
    She added that students were encouraged to bring in food by the way the school kept track of each grade’s total.  She explained 100 cans meant 100 yards, or a “touchdown.”  Dunkelberger kept track of the “touchdowns” on a large poster outside of the main office, which listed how each grade was doing.
    “The students have loved doing this,” said Dunkelberger.