[StBernard] Action Report: Sixth grader starts peanut butter drive to help food bank

[Westley Annis]

Action Report: Sixth grader starts peanut butter drive to help food bank

wwltv.com

Posted on October 21, 2011 at 7:18 PM

Updated yesterday at 7:22 PM

Bill Capo / Action Reporter

CHALMETTE, La. -- Kindergarten and first grade students at Our Lady of
Prompt Succor school in Chalmette enjoyed a pizza party, because their
classes brought in the most peanut butter for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

"Thank you a whole lot for this," said sixth grader Nicholas Fernandez. "I
mean, even I'm impressed."

Fernandez started the peanut butter drive after seeing an Action Report in
August.

"There is not a jar of peanut butter in this entire warehouse, and it is one
of their staples," said Gerald Duhon of Second Harvest at the time. "140,000
cans less this year than last year."

"I just looked at myself and I went I got to do something for all of those
poor people out there," said Nicholas.

The school's 380 students impressed Second Harvest leaders, and even
Nicholas himself, with the number of jars they donated.

"When the principal came in and told me you collected 1000 jars of Peanut
Butter, my jaw dropped. I went what! I collected 1000 jars of Peanut
Butter."

In all, more than 4000 jars of peanut butter were donated to Second Harvest
after that first Action Report, and they're thrilled about that.

But Second Harvest officials say they still face a food emergency. Demand is
so great, now this warehouse is even emptier than it was when we were here
in August.

"When we last spoke, we had 1.5 million pounds of food on the floor we could
distribute," pointed out Second Harvest Executive Director Natalie Jayroe.
"Now that number is 800,000."

They are sending out more food than is coming in, so they urgently need
donations.

"Those non perishable foods, the cans of stew, the tuna fishes, the bags of
rice," Jayroe said.

"It's very important," Nicholas said. "It would be a really big help to do
this for your community and all those poor people out there."

For more information about donating to Second Harvest, call the agency at
734-1322, or visit their website at http://no-hunger.org.