Seventh and eighth-grade students at Northbrook Middle School in Mendota raised $850 for the Mendota Area Christian Food Pantry through a donation campaign before Thanksgiving.

The fundraiser was part of the 4-H Food Action Academy, a curriculum designed to help students understand how food access impacts communities and develop leadership skills.

Students learned that many children in La Salle County face uncertainty about where their next meal will come from and often rely on schools for daily meals.

In response, students organized a school-wide donation drive, collecting 25-cent donations in exchange for paper leaves that donors could decorate and display. Each quarter, the pantry helped purchase $1 worth of groceries through its buying program.

Shasta Hladovcak, 4-H & Youth Development educator, worked with teachers Sarah Henkel and Brandon Scheppers to guide the project.

The 4-H Food Action Academy helps students develop leadership skills while addressing community needs.

For more information about 4-H opportunities, call University of Illinois Extension at 217-244-5812 or email Hladovcak at shlad@illinois.edu.