Families helping families is the way Rose Erdstein describes the food giveaway program last week at the Sunshine Elementary School. Erdstein, a parent involvement specialist and teacher at the school, headed up a program where 42 families, including 82 children, received enough food for the entire Thanksgiving weekend.

The food has been collected by the students, teachers and staff, and parents of students at the school in Lehigh Acres. Some of the food donated came from families that were eligible to receive the free weekend dinners.

The program has the support of Principal Winston Bishop and Linda Brown, an assistant principal and Dr. Bethany Quisenberry, an assistant principal.

Sunshine had passed out holiday turkeys and food for the weekend for some time now, but Erdstein said this may one of the largest because of the down economy.

Since school began, the food has been collected and stored in about a half of Assistant Principal Linda Brown’s office. Every week, students, parents and teachers and staff donated food, all with the aim of giving it away to the “school family,” Erdstein said.

“The children help to stock the food in Dr. Brown’s office and she and others also join in to sort the food and make sure every eligible student’s family gets a fair share, including turkeys and all the groceries needed for a weekend for each family, both large and small.

“It’s such a wonderful program. Parents who need and receive the food on the week before Thanksgiving are also recipients of the food-giveaway,” Erdstein said.

“There is plenty of food, complete meals, soups, enough food for what a family needs until the students return to school,” she said.

The food giveaway program is a well-supported venture at the school. Everyone helps out and everyone gives, she said.

“We get bread from the Faith Lutheran Bread ministry; they are a great help and blessing,” Erdstein said.

“When you see how the students help out with helping to pack all that food, you know they understand what compassion means,” she said.

“Everyone at our school is compassionate when it comes to helping our school families with food,” she said.

“Now we are starting to received food for Christmas so we can give our students food b asked with turkeys and food, and other items such as shoes, toys, and clothing,” she said.

Like other schools in Lehigh, many of which also pass out food, 82 percent of Sunshine Elementary School’s student body are eligible for the federal lunch program. In addition, every student in the school, gets a free breakfast.

Chrissy Fewox, the school’s cafeteria manager, is a big help in the program as are Rose Davis and Jessica Flanders, who work to get turkeys from the Kiwanis Club, she said.

The school has a student population of 1,180 students with the vast majority of them getting free food for their families.

“When you add up the likely price of food, it comes to more than $2,000,”

“We have a Christmas tree in our lobby and it is beautifully decorated. Among the ornaments are cardboard cut-outs shown what a particular students wants for Christmas. Anyone is welcome to take on off the tree and purchase the item” she said. “There are no names on the particular name ornaments, but we know who the children are,” Erdstein said.

“Times are hard for everyone and that is why this program is so wonderful at our school. All of us support the program. These are our kids and their families won’t be forgotten by us,” she said.

“We want every child and his or her family, not to be hungry over the holiday weekend. It’s love that the school has for its kids,” she said.

Captions at right:

Turkey for the holidays: Maria Rodriguez with three children and Yvette Martine with four children at home, one shown here as Gloria Encrnacion, are shown with a cart of holiday food, including turkeys and other food items, are being loaded on a cart to go to the two families’ cars. Bree Hamsher is also shown as the one who helped load up the cart at Sunshine Elementary School. At right is Rose Erdstein who oversees the program.

Special Christmas tree: Rose Erdstein stands along the side of a special Christmas tree with the items that Sunshine Elementary School children want for Christmas.

Rose Erdstein, left, and Linda Brown, an assistant principal at Sunshine Elementary School, play a big role in the holiday food giveaway program at the school. MEL TOADVINE