Cailin Riley on Oct 25, 2023
Local food pantries ensure that the basic needs of families are met, no matter what kind of hardship they’re going through, and community support, often from schools, is key in enabling the pantries to fill those needs.
Recently, Sag Harbor Elementary School students found a new and creative way to support the Sag Harbor Food Pantry, based on the idea that every child deserves to not only have food on the table every night, but a chance to experience the same kind of special moments their peers enjoy.
That’s how the “Cake in a Pan” project was born.
As part of an ongoing school initiative that encourages students to demonstrate altruism and perform acts of service to benefit others, school counselor Michele Grant introduced the project for the month of October.
Each elementary school class was asked to raise $22 — the price of buying a box of cake mix, icing, sprinkles, candles and other necessary ingredients, including a pan to bake the cake — over the course of 10 days, and the challenge was to make sure the students were truly working to raise that money, rather than simply soliciting donations.
“We challenged them to bring in coins only, and we didn’t just want monetary donations,” Grant said. “And the students had to do something specific to earn the coins, such as doing chores at home or recycling cans and bottles.”
Once they raised enough money to purchase the items, the students then worked to put it all together in a cake pan. The school donated a total of 31 cakes.
Grant explained that the project was meaningful in a variety of ways.
“Twenty-two dollars can make a difference between having another meal or having a cake,” she said, adding that the donated cake ingredients will help ensure families don’t have to make a difficult choice like that and forgo a celebration just to put food on the table.
The “Cake in a Pan” initiative was part of this year’s elementary school theme, “Reach for the Stars.” Each year, a theme is chosen, and students are encouraged to participate in a different service-oriented, community-minded project each month that presents different challenges for the students and staff and encourages them to set goals that revolve around teamwork and character development.
In November, the students and staff will work on their annual food drive, and will also write letters to military veterans.