Staples students help with the Westport Police Department's Super Bowl food drive

Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, the Westport Police Department partnered with Homes with Hope and the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club to hold a pre-Super Bowl food drive. The event took place on Sat. Feb. 8, at the Gillespie Center, which serves as both an emergency shelter for single men and a food pantry for families in need. With the help of many Staples students, and food donations from many Westport residents, the day turned out to be a huge success for the community.

Homes with Hope works very closely with the Gillespie Center to help keep the pantry as filled as it can, but it gets tricky at times because there are so many people in need. “Homes with Hope is a Westport based agency dedicated to preventing homelessness in Fairfield county” Helen McAlinden, the president of the non-profit, said.

A lot of the food unpacked was canned goods, especially soups and beans. Since a lot of donations may be expired, an important step is grouping the food together by expiration date.

Here are many of the hygiene products that have been donated. Products include soap, toilet paper, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, diapers and more.

When people come to get food from the pantry, they can “shop” for specific things in certain sections. For example, you can either take two small cans of tuna, or one large can.

Nelly Kaminski ’26 and Ava Carter ’26 were among some of the Staples students helping out. Part of their help involved unloading boxes of food that were brought over by the Westport Police Department, filled with food and hygiene supplies. Kaminski and Carter were there representing Staples’ Service League of Girls (SLOGS).

A lot of donations come in bulk, so part of the volunteers’ job is to pack products into smaller bags.

Many donations also include pasta and mac n’ cheese. In order to make sure everyone gets good quality food, the pastas are also organized by expiration date.

While the images highlight the incredible work of Homes with Hope, it’s important to know that the organization is always in need of more donations. They serve over 400 individuals, so the shelves empty very quickly and their hard work never stops.

CREATED BY

emme dorfman