Koch Schoolers Help Santa Restock Food Pantry

Koch Schoolers in Milbank helped restock the Grant County Food Pantry by checking Santa’s list – his pantry list. Kindergarteners through fifth-graders donated items to the pantry for the project Santa’s Pantry List.

For every completed list, that classroom was entered into a drawing for a popcorn/game party. “The more times a class filled a list, the more times they were entered into the drawing,” explained fifth grade teacher Clarice Buhler. “Some classes completed the list five times.” A total of 45 lists were completed. Mrs. Sara VanMeter’s fourth grade class was the winner of the party.

The list included: laundry detergent, fabric softener sheets, toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, dish soap, hand sanitizer, toothbrush, bars of soap, and a box of Kleenex. “These are the items not covered with food stamps,” explained Heather Rise, community service worker for Interlakes Community Action Partnership and the Grant County Food Pantry.

“The kids did awesome. “They counted 58 containers of laundry detergent,” Buhler said. The fifth-graders delivered the items to the Food Pantry Thursday, December 22, with help from the school’s lunch truck and head custodian, Jerry Kathman.