Decas Elementary students donate more than 60 boxes of food 

Nov 27, 2021

In the run-up to Thanksgiving this November, the students at John W. Decas Elementary collected 63 total boxes of food to support the Church of The Good Shepherd’s community food pantry. 

Deanna Semple and Manny Borges, who work at the school, organized the annual food drive, which Borges said has been running for more than 20 years. 

The food drive was connected to a popular school event, Crazy Hat Day.

“The kids bring in a non-perishable (food item), and they get to wear a hat at the end of the month,” Semple said. “We pick a day, and they get to wear their hat.” 

The drive started in early November and runs through Thanksgiving, roughly. 

“The idea of it was that a lot of the food pantries get depleted at this time of year,” Semple said. “So it’s kind of filling them back up for Christmas and beyond.”

The Church of The Good Shepherd takes the food for their food pantry, Semple said. The church also makes baskets and provides weekly meals to those in need. 

She said the food drive was even more successful this year than it has been in the past. 

“Surprisingly, in this climate right now, we got a lot of food — I think we got more than we ever have,” Semple said. “It’s pretty awesome. Wareham families always come through.”