Twin brothers Jett and Luke Justin from Boca Raton once again led another successful cereal drive, collecting nearly 3,000 pounds of cereal to benefit Boca Helping Hands.
From March through May, the annual Cereal4All drive collected donations from schools, businesses and other organizations. This year’s donation will help the Boca Raton-based nonprofit provide its clients with about 18,380 bowls of cereal.
Boca Helping Hands, which supports over 27,000 people annually, distributes over 80,000 pantry bags each year at five Palm Beach County locations and serves over 90,000 hot meals annually, six days a week.
Organizing their first cereal drive in 2016, the 13-year-olds, who attend Don Estridge Middle School in Boca Raton, began the initiative after volunteering at Boca Helping Hands and noticing the lack of breakfast options.
“Back when we were 8, we were volunteering, packing food pantry bags at Boca Helping Hands, and noticed there was always a shortage of breakfast food — especially cereal,” Luke said.
“The bags go to less fortunate families as meal assistance, so Jett and I realized there were people in our community going without breakfast. We wanted to do something about that.”
Understanding that not every family has the access to certain foods, Jett and Luke wanted to tackle the issue, hoping to make a difference for less fortunate families.
“We had the first Cereal4All drive at our old school, Calusa Elementary, and added more schools and businesses over the years,” Jett said. “Cereal4All is only possible because of the amazing generosity of students, teachers and principals in Palm Beach County.
“For some families, breakfast in their homes isn’t an automatic thing,” Jett said. “We knew a cereal drive could make a difference. Like a lot of students, cereal is one of our favorite foods. Cereal is about breakfast and starting off your day, but it’s also about happiness, which everyone deserves.”
Participants in this year’s drive included Kindness Matters 365, Verde Elementary, Sunrise Park Elementary, Grandview Preparatory School, FAU Community Service Club, Plastridge Insurance, St. Joan of Arc and Del Prado Elementary
School.
