For the third consecutive year, Badin High School donations topped five figures in the annual Canned Food Drive as students overcame the pandemic to step up on behalf of holiday food needs in the community.

Badin students donated a total of 10,286 food items in the late November drive, led by the juniors with more than 18 cans per student.

“We’re thrilled with the total,” said Mrs. Erin Keating, Student Council moderator whose organization oversees the annual drive. “Obviously the virus created some issues since we couldn’t go directly into the various neighborhoods. But we had several parish drop locations that garnered more than 1,000 cans in one day, and our community was very generous, as it always is.”

The Badin goal is 10 cans per student, which would have been 6,000 cans. All classes eclipsed that goal, and as a whole the school averaged 15.3 cans per student. Donations went to Shared Harvest Food Bank.

“Our students understand the needs of the community and the food insecurity in Butler County,” Keating said. “We do this every year, and every year the students respond. It’s very rewarding to see.”

Keating also pointed to the efforts of BHS junior Liz Feltner, a member of Badin’s Service Leadership board, who served as the liaison to the Community Meal Center in Hamilton. She packaged a number of canned goods together and delivered them to the CMC for their weekly efforts.

In a thank-you note to Badin, Amberlee Finkes, supply chain manager for Shared Harvest Food Bank, appreciated the “amazing food drive” and noted, “You and your students collected 11,070 pounds of food. That equates to approximately 9,225 meals for families in our community.”

The Canned Food Drive is a part of the school’s annual Spirit Week competition, which is scheduled for late February of 2021.