The Welsh Valley Middle School student council spearheaded a food drive that will enable hundreds of local residents to enjoy a hearty Thanksgiving feast. 

Students competed by grade level and homeroom to see who could collect the most food. The result? A whopping 199 Thanksgiving bags, 654 Full Belly bags and $850 in grocery gift cards.

Full Belly bags provide healthy, filling meals for area youth who may be struggling with stable nutrition, and include items like macaroni and cheese cups, applesauce, granola bars and instant oatmeal. They will be distributed by a non-profit called The Giving Tree. 

The Thanksgiving bags included canned chicken, gravy, stuffing mix, mashed and sweet potatoes, green beans, cream of mushroom soup, cranberry sauce, a chocolate bar and a $25 grocery gift card. They are being distributed by the Ardmore Food Pantry and ElderNet.

The grade-level winners for collecting the most items were:

• 5^th Grade: Ms. Pezick's homeroom with 35 Thanksgiving Bags
• 6^th Grade: Mr. Gingrich's homeroom with 14 Thanksgiving Bags
• 7^th Grade: Ms.Hollinger's homeroom with 71 Belly Bags
• 8^th Grade: Mrs. Peterson's homeroom with 139 Belly Bags

The team winners from each grade, who are eligible for raffle prizes, were: 

• 5D: Ms. Pezick and Mr. Keeler
• 6C: Ms. Kauffman and Mr. Gingrich
• 7A: Mr. Howarth, Ms. Hollinger, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Gari and Mrs. Hryschchyshyn
• 8A: Mrs. Peterson, Mr. Murray, Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Burnstein and Mrs. White

The schoolwide winners, who will get ice cream parties, were:

• 5th/6th: Ms. Pezick 5D
• 7th/8th: Mrs. Peterson 8A

Congratulations to the Student Council and all of the Dragons, who are already showing they know how to "Go Forth and Serve." You can click through the photos below to see some photos of the collection.