DERRY — Students in local schools are helping those in need keep their cupboards full this season.

As part of the Derry Cooperative School District's annual holiday giving plan, students are currently collecting non-perishable food items and other items to donate to the Derry Community Fund, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Schools traditionally collect food to help need families through the Community Fund and this year is no exception. The food collection drive runs through Nov. 16 at each school in the district.

Derry school staffer Maryann Taylor also volunteers for the Community Fund and said the need grows more and more every year as families and individuals struggle through the holidays and all year through.

As the food drive continues in the schools, Taylor said children will learn how important it is to give to others and how much they can do with just a small token of friendship, like bringing in a can of food.

"We try to talk it up," Taylor said of the drive.

Notices go home to families to remind them of the drive and children then bring in their items to stack high in the hallways of the school until Community Fund volunteers come to pick up the supplies.

And even during parent conference time, families work hard to keep the food supply coming in.

"We try to encourage items to come in during the conferences," Taylor said.

Then the food is taken to the Marion Gerrish Community Center in Derry to be sorted and line up on tables. Families in need then have an opportunity to come shop for their food items the week before Thanksgiving. Taylor said handling the food this way instead of packing individual boxes gives families a sense of independence and control when it comes to choosing the food they would like to take home.

"[Families] end up going home with quite a bit," she said.

Then as Christmas approaches, school children will begin their charitable work all over again, Taylor said, but instead of collecting food, schools will collect other items including socks, mittens, and personal care items to donate to the Community Fund.

The Derry Community Fund has been in Derry for more than 40 years, serving those in need at the holidays and all year long. Along with offering food, the Fund collects toys and financial support to help the hundreds and hundreds of families and individuals in the Greater Derry and surrounding areas so they can have a happier holiday.

The Derry News Santa Fund supports the Community Fund with monetary support. Taylor added the Derry Fire Department will be hosting a toy drive to help the Community Fund this season.