Hewitt News

Tackling Food Insecurity Through Hewitt’s Day of Service 
Lily M. ’26, Magnolia R. ’25, Waverly W. ’25, Heads of the Student Service Board

This fall, the Hewitt community came together for our annual Day of Service. The event was organized by the upper school Student Service Board — a student-led group that plans and facilitates community service efforts throughout the school — along with the Hewitt Parents’ Association and Director of Sustainability Tim Clare. This year’s Day of Service focused on the problem of food insecurity, an issue that Hewitt students across lower, middle, and high school have been passionate about addressing. With the help of several partner organizations, Hewitt’s K-12 students, parents, guardians, faculty, staff, and alumnae spent the day tackling the challenge of food insecurity and making a meaningful impact on our local and global communities.

Throughout our Day of Service, the Hewitt community worked with Rise Against Hunger (a global non-profit that provides meals to people facing food insecurity) to package 25,056 meals for people in the Philippines. Rise Against Hunger’s incredibly accessible service project allowed for collaboration between students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The activity also educated us about food insecurity and showed us that every Hewitt student, regardless of their age, can create positive and beneficial change. 

We also spent the day supporting two of Hewitt’s longtime local service partners, the Friday Soup Kitchen at All Souls NYC and the New York Common Pantry. Each of these organizations is dedicated to alleviating food insecurity in New York City by providing nutritious meals and groceries to those in need. Students in grades 7, 8, and 9 made and packaged 1,200 sandwiches in hand-decorated bags for the Friday Soup Kitchen, while students in grades 3 and 4 created handmade placemats and heartfelt cards to include with the New York Common Pantry’s Thanksgiving meals. Students also packed meals with Citymeals on Wheels. Through these small acts of kindness, we aimed to support local organizations, educate ourselves and our peers about how hunger impacts our community, and offer encouragement to those facing hardship.

Students in grade 12 put together 300 care packages of canned goods, grains, and snacks for the Afrikana Food Pantry in Harlem and Rescuing Leftover Cuisine on the Upper East Side. In addition to non-perishable foods, the care packages donated to Afrikana also included basic self-care necessities like hygiene products, health supplies, and personal care items to support recipients’ immediate nutritional needs as well as their overall wellbeing. The inclusion of both food and self-care essentials reflected a holistic approach to combating food insecurity and poverty, ensuring that individuals received resources to maintain their health and hygiene in addition to sustenance. 

Student Service Board co-head Waverly W. ’25 shared that, “This year’s event marked Hewitt’s most successful and involved Day of Service yet, as our entire community was eager to participate in our efforts to give back. The day highlighted Hewitt’s ability to recognize relevant and ongoing issues and support students in contributing to the bettering of our world.”

Special thanks to The PHFFoundation, Hewitt’s Student Service Board, The Parents’ Association, and Director of Sustainability Tim Clare for their leadership of this important event.
 

A wide shot of the Hewitt gym filled with students in hairnets, packing meal kits

Packing meals with Rise Against Hunger

A dad in a blue t shirt and baseball cap high fives a group of lower school girls wearing hairnets

Packing meals with Rise Against Hunger

A group of students wearing orange safety vests pack boxes with dry goods

Middle schoolers and parent volunteers at Meals on Wheels

A group of middle schoolers sits around a table crowded with sandwich bags

Making sandwiches for the Friday Soup Kitchen at All Souls NYC

A mother and student stand side by side packing meal kits

Packing meals with Rise Against Hunger

One upper schooler and two lower schoolers smile at the camera. They are sitting at a table covered in brightly colored construction paper.

Creating handmade cards and placemats for the New York Common Pantry

A lower schooler in a hairnet smiles while packing a meal kit

Packing meals with Rise Against Hunger

Three 9th graders smile at the camera while holding sandwiches in Ziploc bags

Making sandwiches for the Friday Soup Kitchen at All Souls NYC

Two students work at a desk covered in paper lunch bags and markers

Decorating sandwich bags for the Friday Soup Kitchen at All Souls NYC

A group of eight parents smile at the camera as they build Rise Against Hunger boxes on a folding table

Parents and guardians help set up with Rise Against Hunger

Four middle schoolers wearing hairnets smile at the camera as they pack dry ingredients into meal kits.

Packing meals with Rise Against Hunger

Three fathers smile at the camera. One wears a yellow button down, another a blue t shirt, and the third a grey button down.

Parents and guardians volunteer in support of Rise Against Hunger