Grade 8 students from Forest Hill Public School in Midhurst spent their school day Wednesday getting their hands dirty.
The students were digging up a farmer’s field to gather potatoes, which they will then donate to a local food bank.
The students were expecting to collect 5,000 pounds of potatoes.
“It's a good cause and it helps people who are not as lucky as we are to have meals every day,” said Matea, one of the students taking part.
Teacher Karly LaCroix says it’s been a great learning experience.
“At least half the class has not been on a farm before or at least been in a farmer’s field,” said LaCroix.
The potatoes are left over from this year’s harvest, and would have otherwise rotted if the students hadn’t collected them.
Orillia’s Sharing Place Food Bank is grateful for the donation, since it normally have to pay close to $500 a month for potatoes.
“That's a good chunk of change that's not coming out of our pockets,” said Food Bank employee Shauna Balliak. “We can focus more on Christmas hampers--so that's amazing.”
The school is already planning a similar field trip for next year.
