By Nance Ebert, Contributing Writer
Southborough – Twin sisters Sia and Simi Gandhi are on a mission to help solve the problem of hunger with a program that they recently implemented in the Margaret A. Neary School called “Give Back with a Snack.”
Both 11-year-olds are sensitive to those in their community and beyond that don’t have enough to eat. Their hope is to have the fourth-graders continue the program at the school once they enter the middle school. They would love to introduce it there as well.
“We both noticed a lot of people were throwing away uneaten and unopened food like crackers, granola bars, peanut butter crackers, raisins and more. We were thinking about how people who don’t have enough to eat or are struggling could be helped by some food donations,” said Sia.
Their program began right before February vacation. A bin was placed in the cafeteria and after each lunch period, the students know that they should place any non-perishable food items inside. Once the bin is full, the food gets donated to the local food pantry at the Pilgrim Congregational Church.
“Every day there are several items that are donated in the bin. The lunch ladies bring the bin out and once it’s full, me, Sia and my mom bring it to the food pantry,” said Simi.
Simi gave the project its name and thought it would be easy to remember. At first she wanted to call it the “Helping Hands Bin” but soon realized that the name was an actual organization and changed it to “Give Back with a Snack.”
“We thought about the mission and it really is about giving back to the community so the new name was perfect. We are helping a lot of people and it really doesn’t take much extra time or effort,” said Simi.
“We worked together with Principal Valenti and Kyle Parsons to pass the idea and they were very enthusiastic with our project. Mr. Valenti also volunteered to bring the donated bin items to the pantry if I was unable to do so,” said Nital Gandhi, Sia and Simi’s mother.
Sia gave a presentation about food waste and bringing awareness to changing wasteful habits. She spoke about this during one of the school’s Friday meetings.
“People still die from hunger and there are many things that we can do to help. One of the things is to donate uneaten food to the food pantry. Many people don’t stop and think about others who are hungry and don’t get enough to eat,” said Sia.
The girls have been pleasantly surprised with the amount of non-perishable food being donated.
“This was their idea and I am really proud of my girls,” said Nital Gandhi. “If we all do what we can to help, we will have good results.”