HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Lots of kids look forward to field trips, but a group of students in Arkadelphia had an out-of-class experience on Friday that was extra special.
They collected food items to stock their school's food pantry, and earned themselves a day at the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs.
"We were all screaming when they called fifth grade," 5th Grader, Ionna Mcghee said.
Mcghee and her classmates won the food drive competition because they collected more than 4,000 items to stock Peake Elementary School's food pantry.
The pantry is a great resource for the school, and about 65 students use it every week.
"We were in dire need of food," Principal, Mary Snowden, said.
Principal Snowden explained that the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders collected more than 8,000 items in total to help fill up the shelves.
"It really exceeded our expectations. We were expecting maybe 3,000 products to be brought in," she added.
Snowden said that because of all the products that were collected, they'll be able to feed double the number of students.
"More kids are going to be able to take those backpacks home over the weekend full of food, so we're gonna be able to serve them and hopefully cut down on some of, you know, our community hunger," Snowden said.
Denny Teeter with Teeter Chevrolet is the man who made this field trip happen.
"I was raised by you know, the philosophy you give to give to your community, and they give back and we've been lucky to be there in that community for a long time and it starts with kids," Teeter said.
He explained that he's not stopping there— he plans to give other central Arkansas schools similar opportunities.
"We're gonna do it again next month, and we're not really sure who's going to who is going to land on the spin wheel, but we're going to try to keep on doing this monthly," Teeter said.
Snowden said she wants to carry on the food pantry competition.
"We're just so thankful and grateful that he chose us because there was a real need there," Snowden said.
The need was able to be filled through the help and hard work of other students.
"It makes me feel proud of myself," Ionna Mcghee said.
Principal Snowden explained that she also plans to reward the other grade levels for all their hard work in helping those in need.