Pleasant Hills Middle School annual Thanksgiving food drive benefits community

The Pleasant Hills Middle School’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive again was a huge success, thanks to staff, students, families and members of the community coming together to help those in need. The drive has been a tradition for more than 20 years for PHMS students, staff and the community to provide food and again demonstrate the empathy District families have for those in need in the community.

All items collected during the PHMS Thanksgiving Food Drive were donated to the food bank at the Olivet United Presbyterian Church in West Elizabeth. Approximately 9,500 lbs. of food was donated. Middle school students and staff loaded the donations onto a 26-foot truck and unloaded the items at the church on November 10.

“It was really fun; I feel like I helped others,” said Addison DeNardo, a PHMS eighth grade student who helped load and unload the donated food items. “I’m very happy we got a lot of donations; it was a good outcome. Everyone in school has been excited to help because we knew it was a good cause. It makes me feel good.”

Members of the community began bringing food items to bins at the PHMS and McClellan Elementary School in mid-October. Fans attending the October 28 Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ) football game helped “Pack the Truck” with the donations they brought to TJ Stadium.

According to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, more than 1 in 7 people are facing food insecurity in Southwestern Pennsylvania. During 2021-22, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank received more than 16,000 direct calls for food assistance and distributed 42 million meals in its 11-county service area. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank distributes food through its network of more than 1,000 agencies, partners and programs and is a member of Feeding America, the leading domestic hunger-relief charity in the U.S.