School Districts 65, 67 and 115 Introduce Project F_LL

School Districts 65, 67 and 115 Introduce Project F_LL

Lake Bluff School District along with Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115 have announced the introduction of PROJECT F_LL, a tri-district food collection and distribution initiative addressing the growing issue of food insecurity in Lake County.  Districts 65, 67, and 115 students, staff, and families are partnering to establish ongoing collection and distribution of food for Lake County residents.

F_LL Vision
Project F_LL is the result of a collaboration among District students, staff, families, parent/guardian groups (APT, PTO), and administration in Lake Bluff, and Knollwood, and Lake Forest. The idea of the Tri-District Community Food Drive was sparked by Deer Path Middle School (DPM) sixth-grader Paul Helms. "I wanted to get involved because I saw some shocking statistics,” says Paul.  “One in four students in Lake County are experiencing food insecurity.  I knew I couldn’t just let that number be, not when I had the chance to do something. So I offered to help. " Then Paul enlisted one of his friends, fellow DPM sixth grader Brady Stadolnik, to design the Tri-District Community Food Drive’s heart-shaped logo. “We wanted to make a logo that shows two things: Food and Unity,” says Brady. “ That’s why it is a heart made of food.”

“Two students had a vision to bring hunger awareness in our school community,” says Deer Path Middle School fifth grade language arts and social studies teacher and food drive sponsor, Marissa Catanese. “It is exciting to see the idea grow to encompass three area school districts.” 

F_LL Grocery Bags
Project F_LL will include a series of food drives as well as ongoing food distribution at Lake Forest and Lake Bluff schools and is open to all residents of Lake County. The food collection component of the program will kick off with a Tri-district Community Food Drive beginning the week of March 1. The public is invited to participate by contributing shelf-stable food items as well as monetary donations that will be used to purchase non-perishable food for Lake County families and raise awareness for the cause. It is estimated that it costs about $20 to “fill a grocery bag.'' 

The Districts have set a goal of filling at least 200 bags every month with non-perishables during the Tri-district Community Food Drive. Food may be dropped off at all schools in the three Districts as follows:

• In District 65, food collection will take place at Lake Bluff Elementary School and Lake Bluff Middle School during the first week of each month for the balance of the school year:
  • March 1-4 
  • March 29 - April 1
  • April 31 - May 6 
• In District 67, food collection will take place at all District 67 schools for the balance of the school year, beginning March 3.
• In District 115, food collection will take place at Lake Forest High School every Tuesday and Friday, for the balance of the school year, beginning March 2.

Financial contributions to support the purchase of additional shelf-stable food items and raise awareness may be made here. All donations are tax deductible. The first 150 donors who contribute $50 or more will receive a Project F_LL beanie. 

VISIT OUR PROJECT F_LL WEBSITE TO READ MORE.

CONTACTS
Nate Blackmer, Lake Bluff School District 65
nblackmer@lb65.org

Melissa Oakley, Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115
moakley@lfschools.net

Margi Hamilton, Quest Food Management Services
mhamilton@questfms.com