As a school which loves to give back to its community, every year Student Council hosts a fundraiser for the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry located right down the way from our campus. This year, the pantry asked our school to base the school-wide fundraiser on the theme of peanut butter and jelly because they were looking for items other than just an array of canned foods, and PB&J always seemed to be one of their most popular items at the pantry.

The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry began in the spring of 1979 when the high school youth group of Grace Lutheran Church collected food for people in need, and it continued to grow from there. Today, the Pantry operates independently of the church but is housed in its building. The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry was incorporated in 1985 and is currently supported by 16 Sponsoring Glen Ellyn churches.

The executive board’s goal for the school was to collect 2000 jars. Our student body raised over 1500 jars of peanut butter and jelly, which is more supplies raised than ever raised before. I had the chance to speak with member of the executive board for Student Council Claire Lohman who shared with me that “the food pantry shelves are now overflowing with peanut butter and jelly” and that “the executive board couldn’t be prouder of the hard work Glenbard West students and faculty members put into making this drive successful.”

Mrs. Brandt’s second period class came out on top with the most jars donated. With all the donations from each second period class, however, Student Council was able to fill up the entire trunk of Claire Lohman’s car! The pantry was ecstatic to see all the donations made by the GBW classes and let Claire Lohman know that “the pantry will have enough peanut butter and jelly to last them a long time and all the donations will be very helpful in making a big difference in lots of people’s lives.” Personally, Claire wanted to say that “[she] loves that West emphasizes the importance of making an impact in the community.”.

Overall, the PB&J Drive was a success, and the care and love the student body put in to donating each and every jar will serve a purpose for a family in need.