Palm Harbor – Plato Academy Palm Harbor fifth graders along with their teachers Mrs. Krynski and Ms. Riker and a group of volunteer parents, rolled up their sleeves yesterday for their annual volunteer field trip to Feeding Tampa Bay, also joining students from other local schools in a hands-on lesson about community service and food insecurity.
The combined student groups sorted, organized, and packed 6,520 pounds of food, enough to provide approximately 5,430 meals for Tampa Bay area residents facing hunger.
Beyond the impressive numbers, this field trip offers students something textbooks cannot. Fifth graders learn that addressing hunger requires organized systems and teamwork. They discover how their own neighborhoods may contain families who struggle to put food on the table. Most importantly, they experience the direct connection between individual effort and community impact.
The work itself teaches practical skills, from sorting donated items by category and expiration date to understanding food safety protocols and warehouse logistics. Students see firsthand how charitable organizations operate and how volunteers form the backbone of community support systems.
Perhaps most valuable is the perspective shift that comes from service work. Students realize they possess the power to make measurable differences in other people’s lives, regardless of their age. This hands-on experience plants seeds of civic responsibility that can grow throughout their lives.
The school extends appreciation to parent chaperones who supervised and encouraged students throughout the day.
Feeding Tampa Bay distributes food through a network of partner agencies across ten counties. More information about their mission and volunteer opportunities is available at feedingtampabay.org.
