Lincoln School Food Pantry

Mrs. Nancy Thunell, an anti-bullying specialist at Lincoln School and Spring Garden, is the face behind many successful and helpful activities that occur within the community. Not only does she devote her time and energy into counseling the students at the elementary level, but she is also the club advisor for the St. John’s Club which collects food donations monthly to bring to St. John’s Church in Newark. 

Originally, Mrs. Thunell worked with a former teacher who ran the club, and after many years she decided to take it over. Lincoln has had a big helping hand in this good deed “for over 25 years,” Mrs. Thunell said. The food drive lasts for three-to-four weeks as the majority of students bring in non-perishable items and on the first Wednesday of every month they leave at 7am for their two hour trip to the church in Newark.

Upon arriving, students separate and organize food as well as checking for expiration dates on food that’s already been brought to the organization. Students then return back to school where donations for the drive reopens for another four weeks.  It’s a day that makes all the kids and teachers feel important for doing something that gives back as much as the monthly trips to the food pantry that help the people in need. 

Mrs. Thunell greatly enjoys it. "Watching the experience through a student's eyes and giving back to our community is something special,” she says. 

The St. John’s Club is expected to continue  running, collecting donations, and taking trips to the church like it has done for the past 25 years in order to help the Newark community.