High Road School of Bucyrus Hosts Thanksgiving Food Drive

A Community Effort to Support Families

Thanksgiving came a little early at High Road School of Bucyrus, where students and staff rallied with the local community to make sure every family could enjoy a full holiday meal. The school recently hosted its first-ever Thanksgiving Food Drive, securing enough donations to provide 15 families (17 students) with turkey dinners.

What Each Family Received

The recipients received two bags: one filled with Thanksgiving meal essentials, including a turkey, classic holiday side dishes, and desserts, and another stocked with pantry staples such as soups, crackers, oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, and more.

“We are so grateful to be able to support our families in this way,” said Taylor Wray, associate director.

Why the Food Drive Was Created

The idea for the food drive emerged as staff discussed ways to support families facing reduced SNAP benefits. With many students coming from lower-income households, the team wanted to create something meaningful heading into the holiday season. A school-wide food drive quickly became the clear choice, and once planning began, the entire school community rallied behind it.

Community Donations Make an Impact

A message went out to all 50 families the school serves. Additionally, more than a dozen families signed up to receive a Thanksgiving bag. Donations poured in from every corner of the community – staff, student families, neighbors who saw the call on social media, and a local church. One staff member contributed eight turkeys, and a single family generously donated the remaining seven.

“Though small in scale, the project was deeply meaningful. One student even helped assemble the bags alongside staff members,” Wray said.

Personal Touches Added by Staff

As an extra touch, Wray created simple recipe cards for green bean casserole and a holiday sweet potato side. Notably, all recipes use nonperishable items so families can easily prepare meals. The cards were printed, laminated, and tied to the bags, adding a personal High Road touch.

Reflecting on the event, she shared this note with staff:

I want to take a moment to celebrate our first-ever school-wide food drive, which was an incredible success. We plan to make this an annual tradition thanks to how meaningful and impactful it was. With the generosity of our team and community, we were able to provide for all 15 families (17 students total) that signed up, with a full Thanksgiving meal!

Each family received a turkey, ingredients for green bean casserole, a holiday sweet potato dish, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, stuffing, cornbread, macaroni, fruit, and two desserts. In addition, we were able to fill another bag with extra essentials such as soups, crackers, oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, and more!

The sense of relief and support these families will feel is truly special, and it wouldn’t have been possible without each of you. We were able to genuinely bless our families this year.

Bucyrus Thanksgiving Food Drive Impact

The first Thanksgiving Food Drive was a powerful reminder of what a supportive, caring school community can accomplish together. Because of the overwhelming support, this event will now become an annual tradition.