NORWICH – Cans of chicken noodle and vegetable beef soup and boxes of baking mixes aren’t what you might expect to find stacked in a first grade classroom. In Gail Holowacz’s class at Stanford Gibson Elementary School in Norwich, however, you’ll find boxes and bags filled with these and other non-perishable food items.

“We’re having a food drive,” explained Tyler, one of Mrs. Holowacz’s students. He and other members of his class are proud, and more than a little bit excited, about the drive, which is their first community service project of the year.

“We have been learning about community,” Holowacz explained. One of the lessons the students are learning is that being part of a community means helping one another. And one of the ways in which first graders can help, is by having a food drive, she said.

Between now and Oct. 23, Holowacz’s class will be collecting non-perishable food items for the food pantry at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Norwich. Some of the specific items they are looking for include boxes of Jell-O, instant pudding mix and soups with meat, such as vegetable beef or chicken noodle. They are also seeking toilet paper, facial tissues, napkins and paper towels.