Students Help Kick Off Holiday Food Drives

Thanks to your continued support, Tarrant Area Food Bank can involve all members of the community to help raise awareness of the importance of food drives during the holiday season. Through events like TAFB’s annual Kick the Can, which took place on Nov. 4, individuals, businesses large and small, and local children’s organizations and schools are able to join the fight against hunger. One school that Tarrant Area Food Bank is proud to work with is William Monnig Middle School in Fort Worth.

For almost 10 years, students in the Living for Natural Communities (LINC) class at the middle school have been participating in the Kick the Can relay. According to LINC teacher Wende Copp, “LINC is a life skills class that teaches functional daily living skills as well as academics for students with an intellectual disability.” Students in grades six through eight enter the program from different elementary and middle schools around the district.

Each year, students look forward to their Kick the Can invitation and take their participation in the relay very seriously. They collect large cans from the school cafeteria and practice kicking them and relay racing on the track. The new sixth graders are shown how to properly kick a can. All students are guided in lessons on the importance of sticking to the rules of fair play. Wende says they always get nervous and really try to win.

After 10 years of participating in the relay, the walls of the LINC classroom are lined with Kick the Can plaques. Students and their families have been instrumental in helping the children receive many of the game day awards over the years. In 2014, students were voted Favorite Team in an online challenge and won. “Kick the Can has been a good experience for my students,” Wende says.

Holiday food drives are a great way to support Tarrant Area Food Bank in the fight against hunger. Learn more and register your holiday food drive by visiting our Community Food Drives page.