Food comes from hearts

By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Austintown PTA Council made a plea Nov. 26: Help us feed some local families during the holidays.
Two weeks later, the council members discovered that their plea had been heard at Fitch High School.
On Dec. 7, Fitch parents and students dropped off about 10,000 packaged food items at the old farmhouse on South Raccoon Road near Falcon Drive.
The food was placed in boxes and delivered to 90 needy families in Austintown through the PTA council's "Special Services Project" canned food drive.
Students at each school in the township donated items to the food drive.
Praise: "Words can't describe what they did," Tammy Pietruszka, one of the chairwomen for the food drive, said of the students. Chairwoman Maribeth Pickens added, "This is definitely coming from the heart."
The farmhouse, owned by the school district, served as the project headquarters. The township fire department delivered the food.
Members of the PTA council include principals, PTA presidents and representatives of each of the eight schools in the township. Phyllis Hensperger and Mary Ann Miller also served as chairwomen for the food drive.
Both Pickens and Pietruszka said they felt the number of food items donated this year was more than had been donated during past Special Services Project food drives.
The PTA council has been conducting the food drive during the holiday season for about 30 years.
This year's drive began Nov. 1. Pickens said that much of the food was donated after the PTA council made its plea to school administrators on Nov. 26.
Before the plea, the council was concerned that it would not have enough food for all the families. The 90 needy families were selected by principals and staff at the schools.
Getting word out: Principals broadcast the plea to students during morning announcements after Nov. 26. The cans and packages then began pouring in.
Pietruszka said she thinks some of the students were more willing to donate in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The students weren't concerned about how "cool" it was to donate after the attacks, she said.
Some students also donated their time and helped the PTA council package the food. Fitch Sophomore Terry Hacon, 16, said he volunteered to package the food, "to help out people who don't have so much."
"I just hope they're happy and they have a lot to eat," Hacon said of the families receiving the food.
Fitch Sophomore John Boerio, 16, added, "They can use it more than I can."
hill@vindy.com