Shoppers stuff bus with food now to fill stomachs later

Norwich - It was a long day.

But ask any of the girls from the Teens in Action group at the Academy of the Holy Family and they'll tell you it was worth it.

Starting at 5 a.m. Sunday, the girls set up shop outside Walmart and Big Y in Norwich, trying to collect as much nonperishable food as they could to fill a full-sized school bus.

"It's just a whole lot of fun," said junior Kate Lively as she walked through the bus midday Sunday. "If you walk down the whole bus, there is already a lot of food. There's a ton of everything."

The students from the all-girls school in Baltic loaded food donated by shoppers at both stores and loaded it onto the bus, which was parked in an empty section of the parking lot. The donations will go a long way toward improving the lives of others, they said.

"Last year, we got to help 200 families who really needed it," said sophomore Isabella Gauthier. "We're collecting everything but the turkey."

Donations were sorted as soon as they were dropped off. Potatoes went on one seat, stuffing on another. By the end of the day, the bus was filled with donations, said Roxanne Mansfield, the group's adviser.

"We filled every seat and then some," Mansfield said. "And now we're heading back to school, where the food pantry is, to unload and sort everything. It's been a very long day."

The group got more donations than last year, when they collected food at Dodd Stadium. This year's location, near two big stores on a busy shopping day, made it easier to collect food.

"Given the way the economy is, it's definitely something people need this year," Mansfield said.

Today and Tuesday, students will sort the food and prepare baskets for local families in need. Most will go toward the school's Sisters of Charity Food Pantry, with leftovers going to other nearby charities.

"The Gemma Moran Center is one of the places that gets jammed with need over the holidays, so we help out by making these baskets," said sophomore Micala Smith.

Teens in Action is holding a second food drive on Dec. 13 at the Walmart in Lisbon. In addition to food, the students will be collecting new toys for Christmas.