⏩ While faced with unprecedented need and rising food insecurity, supplies have dwindled and become harder for the state’s food pantries to access.

TORRINGTON — Fourth grade students at Renbrook School, including Annika Schnabel of Torrington, were recently challenged to make adjustments to a social studies project by connecting it to the COVID-19 crisis.

Katie Bunel, teacher at Renbrook School explains, “Before we left for our Spring Break in March, students were learning about the Global Goals and [ways] to put those goals into action. We came back to that during our Distance Learning to encourage students to think of something they could do relating to one of the Global Goals and COVID.”

Schnabel accepted the challenge. “I heard in the news that, because a lot more people were out of work [due to] the coronavirus, they couldn’t afford to buy food, so a lot of food banks were running out of food,” she said. “I chose to support the global goal of Zero Hunger. It makes me sad [to know] that people are going hungry.”

Schnabel created her plan as assigned and then put it into action. She placed calls to FISH and Friendly Hands, and asked what they needed. With a list-in-hand, including canned goods and pots and pans, she reached out to her community online.

Neighbors and families of her classmates at Renbrook donated not only food, but monetary donations as well. With $1,000 in donations, Schanbel and her mom, Natasha Page Levin, went shopping and purchased additional food items to donate to the food banks.

“It took us four trips to shop for and deliver all the food,” Schnabel said. “I am happy that I was able to help in some way.”

Bunel was very proud of Schnabel’s efforts. “I had no idea that Annika would take it as far as she did, but I am incredibly proud of her. She is such a thoughtful and caring person. I’m lucky to be her teacher,” she said.

The mission of FISH NWCT is to provide the most basic needs of humans- food, shelter and hope. For more information on their programs or to donate, visit www.fishnwct.org.

Friendly Hands Food Banks offers bi-weekly food pickups, Thanksgiving family dinners, birthday bags (up to 12 years old), school supplies for kids, Christmas toys and gifts for seniors, winter coats and other necessary items. For more information, visit www.friendlyhandsfood.org.

Renbrook School, located in West Hartford, is an independent day school serving children from Preschool through Grade 8. For more information about Renbrook School, visit wwww.renbrook.org, email shayes@renbrook.org or call 860-236-1661 ext. 227.

Contributed photo Annika Schnabel, a fourth-grade student at Renbrook and a resident of Torrington, recently organized a food drive for local food pantries.