Full plates. Full Hearts.

Donate to Project F_ll

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Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115 and Lake Bluff School District 65 have introduced PROJECT F_LL, a tri-district food collection and distribution initiative addressing the growing issue of food insecurity in Lake County.

According to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, hunger in the region is on the rise. In Lake County, about 6.9 percent of residents were considered food insecure in 2018. Due in part to the pandemic, that number climbed to nearly 12 percent at the end of 2020. In response, 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 school administration in Lake Bluff, 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.”