Williston students recently took a small break during lunch to help those in need.

On December 9, the Community Service Club held “Make a Sandwich, Make a Difference.” The event, held between 11:10 and 12:50, was for students to make sandwiches which would then be given to the Easthampton Community Center.

This food drive, part of Social Justice Week, was designed to raise awareness about food insecurity in the US. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 14.3 million people (11.1%) in the United States faced food insecurities in 2018.

Anita Hua ’22, said she was participating in the sandwich making because of her enjoyment in helping others. She said with a smile, “It’s a good thing to do because we’re donating food to people and enjoy doing it.”

Ruth Lombrozo ’22 feels strongly about the need for helping others. She said, “We should all be doing this and helping people who have less than us. It only takes five minutes.”

Speaking with the creator behind the sandwich bar, Kate Garrity, Director of Student Life, felt pleased about the turn out. She boasted, “It makes me feel proud of our community that we can easily make a difference.”

In an email to the school, Garrity released a list of the number of sandwiches made by each grade: seniors made 30; juniors made 38; sophomores made 114; freshman made 16; middle schoolers made 42. In last year’s sandwich making, Garrity said the Community Service Club made around 200 sandwiches. They are also the ones who purchase the sandwich supplies, and receive help from Sage Dining, which donates the gloves and tablecloths for the event.

Another part of Social Justice Week is the annual Food Drive. Williston collected a notable amount of canned goods last year through its class race, resulting in 3137 cans in total. Garrity released a list of cans collected by grade: seniors collected 1083; juniors collected 521; sophomores collected 107; freshman collected 107.

As of this year, the Williston community is significantly behind last year’s numbers, with a total of 48 cans collected thus far. The list of cans collected by each grade is as follows: seniors collected 10; juniors collected 2; sophomores collected 15; freshman collected 21; middle schoolers collected 0.

Both the sandwich making event and the food drive come on the heels of Monty’s March, the 10th annual fundraising “march against hunger” which, to date, has raised $337,004 for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.