GREENSBORO, N.C. — Call it "pasta with a purpose."
On the heels of National Noodle Day, the generous students and staff at Frazier Elementary School in Greensboro are thrilled to launch their fourth-annual noodle drive.
"Frazier Elementary is a school of giving, so we like to give back to our communities. Backpack Beginnings is the organization we chose, because they help our students in Guilford County Schools, so that's a way of us giving back to families and schools in need," said school social worker Kristie Johnson.
Johnson, a longtime educator and mother, explained it is fulfilling for her to see the school's cultural diversity represented in the types of noodles students collect. This year's goal is 1,300 boxes of noodles, and at the end of the drive, a truck will load up all of the heartfelt donations to take to Backpack Beginnings, which operates a family market for families dealing with food insecurity.
Johnson said she loves seeing the excitement of students who participate, knowing they are making a difference.
Fourth-grader Katharine said, "It feels great, because you get to help them (people in the community) in a certain way, and it like provides them more to grow stronger."
The noodle drive runs Oct. 16 through Oct. 20. Community members who would like to participate can drop off packaged noodles to the bin outside Frazier Elementary School's front entrance (during those dates) between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. or from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.