SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Earlville’s first graders challenged their peers to collect 600 non-perishable food items by the 100th day of this school year. With roughly 500 elementary school students, teachers agreed the goal was an attainable one, but they were surprised to end up with a mound of food stacked almost 1,300 items high.

Initially the food was meant simply to benefit a Backpack Program run by two high school students, Elijah Morris and Jordan VanAlthuis, which disseminates the donated food among children in need. Because of the large quantity of donated food this year, after a portion has be taken out for the Backpack Program, the rest will be handed over to local food pantries.

The elementary school’s food drive kicked off in early January, on day 85 of the school year, when elementary students brought home fliers asking for donations, meaning the children were only stockpiling their donations for 15 days before they had accumulated 1,300 items.

Last year, only the first graders participated in the food drive and teachers set a goal of 100 non-perishables.