FORT LORAMIE — Four freshmen Fort Loramie Girl Scout Troop 20337 members recently received their Silver Award for their project, “Fort Loramie Helping Hands.”

Members Elise Beresik, daughter of Marie Beresik; Lauren Bergman, daughter of Keith and Amy Bergman; Alana Stricker, daughter of Keith and Julie Stricker; and Abby Wrasman, daughter of Kevin and Amy Wrasman, brainstormed different project ideas prior to settling on the idea to collect uneaten/unwanted food items that would have otherwise been thrown away.

According to troop leader Amy Bergman, the girls noticed an issue within the Fort Loramie Elementary School involving students tossing unwanted, unopened food and drinks into the trash during lunch.

“They were bothered and surprised by all the food that was thrown away,” Bergman said. “They thought, ‘What can we do with all of this food that nobody is using and could we use it to help someone else?’”

Following along with the guidelines of the Silver Award, Bergman said, the girls knew their project would need to follow a plan and would need to involve working with community members.

“This needed to be something sustainable,” Bergman said. “The goal was to have the project established to continue each year.”

The girls communicated with Fort Loramie Elementary School Principal Scott Rodeheffer and the school cafeteria staff in order to plan the logistics of the project. They also got in touch with St. Michael Church and Holy Angels Soup Kitchen.

The plan was to collect all unwanted items from student lunches in donation boxes available in the cafeteria instead, and to then donate the food to the Holy Angels Soup Kitchen and St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry.

The items collected included food in original, sealed packages, along with fresh fruit, milk, and juice.

To get the word out to students about the project, the girls made three videos. Bergman said these clips included details about the goal and instructions for students who wished to participate, including what would and would not be accepted and where they would be able to find the collection boxes. The instructional videos were played during the schools announcement program, “Redskin News Network.”

The girls even purchased a cart to transport and store food, the funds for which they earned while working the french fry stand during the Fort Loramie Liberty Days event.

The collection process, which initially began at the end of the previous school year on a trial basis, restarted in March of this year.

Bergman said the project was a success, and that around two bulk boxes full of unwanted items was collected each week.