Saddleback Elementary leads charge to aid hunger

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It’s not that students at Saddleback Elementary School care more about feeding the hungry than other schools in Maricopa Unified School District, but it was easy to see that they tried harder.

Saddleback Elementary, one of nine schools in MUSD that participated in the Maricopa “Feed Our Families” contest, was awarded $1,000 this week from Treasured Smiles Children’s Dentistry for being the top food collecting school. Students and staff at Saddleback collected more than 3,000 pounds of food for F.O.R. Maricopa food bank.

The “Feed Our Families” campaign, the brainchild of Maricopa dentist Dr. Duane Clouse, was organized this fall and culminated the week of Nov. 16-20. The goal of the district-wide contest was to create awareness of food shortages in the community and to collect 4,875 pounds of food.

“Our goal is to create awareness of our community need, to fill our pantry shelves so that there will be no hunger at least for the holiday season,” Clouse said at the beginning of the campaign. “This is something we can do to make a difference in the community, to come forth as a community to solve this problem together.”

While the winning Saddleback Elementary received $1,000, the other participating schools didn’t go away empty handed. Each school each received $250. The schools are able to use the money in any way they choose.

For Jamye Amick, principal at Saddleback Elementary, the contest was an opportunity to take the “message of caring” to a wider audience. “Right now, we are looking at partnering with a non-profit agency outside of the school to bring school supplies for a school down in Rocky Point (Mexico),” Amick said. “We’re working out the logistics right now, so we’ll continue to carry that concept forward.”

Amick was surprised how many students reached out to help others. “One thing that touches my heart about all of this is because half of our population are needing themselves,” Amick said. “We have one of the highest at-risk populations. A lot of our kids, half or more, are on free or reduced lunch. Just the fact that those families, already needing so much, got into their pantries and helped somebody that they probably perceived needed more than what they needed.”

Photo by Jim Williams

Photo: Rachele Reese and Jamye Amick from Saddleback Elementary School receive a certificate and $1,000 check from Kristine Brisk and Dr. Duane Clouse, Treasured Smiles Children’s Dentistry.