Photos Provided Pictured are South Elementary first-grade students, from left, Gage Myers, Bella Milbert, Amelia McCarthy, Kinsley Stewart and Easton Byrne.

TILTONSVILLE — Buckeye Local’s elementary schools are collecting food for families within their buildings to help with holiday meals.

Buckeye South and West and North Elementary Schools have been holding food drives with plans to distribute the goods prior to Thanksgiving. The school campaigns got a boost with donations of turkeys from Thompson and Sons of Dillonvale and the Dillonvale Food Pantry and kids helped provide the rest of the trimmings.

At South, students raised food and a variety of other necessities from Nov. 18-25. Preschool students gathered egg noodles, macaroni and cheese, pasta, sauce and taco and gravy packets; kindergarten organized boxed dinners such as Hamburger Helper, stuffing, rice, canned chicken, tuna or beef stew; first grade brought cereal and other breakfast items from pancake mix and syrup to pop tarts and oatmeal; second grade had canned fruit and vegetables and soup; third grade collected snacks such as chips, crackers and pudding cups; fourth grade was responsible for cleaning supplies and hygiene products from paper towels and dish soap to deodorant and shampoo; and fifth grade brought drinks such as water, juice and pop.

Second-grade teacher and organizer Mary Matthews said it was the third-annual event and has helped about 20 families in the school community. Food could be picked up by the end of the day on Nov. 26, which had a two-hour early dismissal.

“We’ve been doing this annually for the past five or six years,” Matthews said. “We hope to get enough supplies to serve about 10 families. We’ve had the turkeys donated by Thompson and Sons in Dillonvale and Meadowbrook Church of God is giving a $20 gift card with each basket.”

She added that the older students understand the meaning of the project after taking part for years, and seeing how families benefit from their act of kindness makes it more fulfilling.

Meanwhile, Buckeye West held its campaign from Nov. 4-22 and offered an incentive for classes to gather goods in the form of an ice cream party. School nurse Mandi Cook, who organized the event, said students were working to raise the most items in anticipation of the sweet reward.

“The turkey, mashed potatoes and yams were donated by the food pantry. We have 15 families this year, which is slightly lower than last year but the sixth grade went to the junior high,” she said. “The grade that brings in the most gets ice cream after the Thanksgiving break.”

Preschoolers brought canned and boxed desserts, kindergarteners provided drink packets such as Kool-Aid, first-grade students collected gravy packets, second graders gathered noodles, third graders brought boxed potatoes, fourth-grade students garnered canned green beans and fifth graders collected macaroni and cheese.

Cook said boxes of meals would be distributed to families on Nov. 25-26 either by picking them up at the school or delivering them to the families’ homes.

Meanwhile, Buckeye North conducted its food drive and wrapped up on Nov. 19. Principal Susan Nolan said participation was voluntary and each class was responsible for a specific item, while cash contributions were also accepted.

Preschool was responsible for collecting macaroni and cheese, kindergarten for egg noodles, first grade for cereal, second grade with stuffing, third grade with cranberry sauce or gravy mix, third grade for canned vegetables, fruit or soup and fifth grade with two-liter bottles of pop. Nolan said potatoes, butter and Brown-n-Serve rolls were also accepted while the non-perishables were collected in each classroom. The food was being distributed on Nov. 25 and the school has helped about 20-25 families in the past.