American Heritage Schools’ Upper School PTO at the Broward campus helped provide thousands of Thanksgiving meals to families in need through its fifth annual “Thanksgiving Meal in a Bag” drive, benefiting Feeding South Florida.
Determined to ensure local households could access a traditional holiday meal, students, faculty, families and PTO members teamed up for the large-scale food collection. Their efforts come at a time when more than 1.2 million people across Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties are experiencing food insecurity this season.
Students were encouraged to fill reusable grocery bags with staple Thanksgiving items, including canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, pasta, beans, mac and cheese, peanut butter, rice, gravy packets and more. They also included gift cards that allowed families to purchase a turkey.
The 2025 drive generated 15,483 pounds of food, enough to serve an estimated 12,902 meals, according to organizers. Students and families also donated 975 gift cards, five turkey certificates and cash contributions totaling $19,835. In all, the donations helped more than 1,010 families — a 9% increase from the 2024 event.
To encourage participation, Feeding South Florida offered students three volunteer hours per donated bag, with the opportunity to earn up to 15 hours. Students from any school could take part by submitting their Service Hours Form to a Feeding South Florida representative onsite.
The annual drive continues to be one of the region’s youth-led efforts supporting Feeding South Florida’s mission to combat hunger and expand access to nutritious meals.
This is a Hy-Lo News Staff Report.
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