A food drive organized by staff and students at St. Matthew Catholic School is being hailed as a tremendous success.

The donations have been tallied, and K-8 students collected around 2,600 items, which were loaded up and delivered to The Lord’s Food Bank Friday afternoon.

St. Matt’s religion teacher, Kristin Papineau, said students often pray in class for their neighbours, and the food drive was a way to put faith into action.

“Participation was off the charts — multiple classes have donated multiple items,” she said.

First place went to Mrs. McGuigan’s Grade 4/5 split class of 22 students, which donated well over 333 items and will receive an ice cream float party for its efforts.

In second place, Mrs. Coetsee’s pre-K class donated 246 items.

Mrs. Fraser’s Grade 6 class rounded out the top three, donating 237 items.

Need at The Lord’s Food Bank

While donations are always appreciated, staff at The Lord’s Food Bank say their shelves are quite well stocked.

“This time of year, we always see a big increase in giving,” said Kyle Archer, executive director of The Lord’s Food Bank. “People are very thankful for what they have and they want to pass that along to their neighbours — Rocky Mountain House has always been very good for that.”

Donations come from various drives around town, he said. These typically come from schools and churches, as well as the annual Haunted Barn fundraiser and Rainbow Ford’s “Bury the Bronco” challenge.

“We’re really blessed this time of year with a community with such a heart for giving.”