Parker School donates 4.5 tons of food to Kokua Christian Ministries’ food pantry

For the last three years at Thanksgiving time, Parker School has focused on giving back to the community.

On Nov. 26, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Parker students, staff, faculty and families gathered to celebrate what the school dubbed Ohana Day and the culmination of several weeks of the Ohana Day Food Drive.

This year, students in kindergarten through 12th grade collected 4.5 tons of food for Kokua Christian Ministries’ food pantry in Waimea.

Before gathering on the lawn just before lunchtime to see the fully loaded trucks and trailers destined for the food pantry, the grade 6-12 students spent the morning performing various community service activities in Waimea. Students helped with cleanup, maintenance and other tasks at Kahilu Theatre, Parker Ranch, the Waikoloa Stream, Waimea Trails and Greenways, Anna Ranch, Thelma Parker Library, St. James Episcopal Church and the Parker School campus.

For the food drive, Parker middle-schoolers (grades 6-8) — for the third year in a row — brought in the vast majority of the food. The Upper School’s student council took care of all the last-minute counting of food, loading it and delivering it to the Kokua Christian Ministries’ food pantry.

“Our students not only contributed cans of food, they contributed a lot of time and hard work to make a difference in other people’s lives,” said Parker English teacher and student council advisor Jessie Marshall. “I’m particularly proud of the middle school, which every year puts forth a tremendous effort to collect cans and help our community.”

For more information about Parker School, visit www.parkerschoolhawaii.org.