Food drive marks school-year milestone

Students at Mahala H. Atchinson School (above) and Swimming River School (below) collect groceries for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties to mark the 100th day of school.

TINTON FALLS - To celebrate the 100th day of school, students in Tinton Falls collected 3,310 cans of food, which were donated to the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

The goal was for each classroom to collect 100 cans, one for each completed day of school this year, said Kim Soder, a member of the Tinton Falls PTA.

"Some teachers incorporated the food drive into math lessons using graphs. All of the children and staff were happy to help the community will celebrating the 100 days," she said.

The program was initiated by the Tinton Falls PTA in 2005 as a productive way to celebrate the milestone of the school year.

Soder explained that the food drive is organized solely as a community outreach project and students are not rewarded in any way for their participation, nor is there competition between classes or schools.