Boca Helping Hands (BHH) has received an equivalent of nearly 100,000 bowls of cereal from collection drives conducted by Cereal4All, a nonprofit organization that was started by 14-year-old twin brothers Jett and Luke Justin, Boca Raton residents who attend Don Estridge Middle School.
Their annual cereal donation drive will launch on March 7 in celebration of National Cereal Day. Participating schools thus far include Coral Sunset Elementary Schools, J.C. Mitchell Elementary School, Morikami Park Elementary School, and Whispering Pines Elementary School. Local elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, universities, and businesses are invited to sign up to participate in the county-wide collection drive through mid-April by registering at cereal4all.org.
Breakfast food is one of the least donated items to food banks across the country. Unfortunately, that means not all families have daily access to breakfast in their homes. Like most kids, Jett and Luke consider cereal to be one of their favorite foods.
“We want to live in a world where every kid and family have daily access to breakfast food in their home,” Luke Justin said. “We want to be part of the fight against food insecurity.”
Having volunteered at Boca Helping Hands with their parents, Jett and Luke organized their first cereal drive for BHH in 2016 at Calusa Elementary School, when they were just eight years old. The boys have since expanded the program, now called Cereal4All, to more schools in the area, including Florida Atlantic University.
“Cereal is about breakfast, but it’s also about happiness,” Jett Justin said. “We couldn’t stop thinking about the families in our community who couldn’t fill their bowls, and we wanted to do something about it.”
The entire Justin family continues to volunteer at BHH. “It was always important to my wife and me to instill the idea of thinking about others and helping the community,” said Eric Justin, the twin's father. “The boys bonded with Boca Helping Hands and their mission because it speaks to their hearts. We realized that Boca Helping Hands is a hidden jewel in the community.”
In 2019, the twins received six additional pallets of cereal from General Mills after persistently writing to the company for three years. General Mills still supports Cereal4All and has sent the boys t-shirts to give to students who donate cereal boxes.
Last year, Cereal4All collected nearly 3,300 pounds of cereal with the help of participating schools and organizations. Participants in last year’s collection include Kindness Matters 365, Verde Elementary School, Sunrise Park Elementary School, Grandview Preparatory School, the Florida Atlantic University Community Service Club, Plastridge Insurance, St. Joan of Arc Catholic School, and Del Prado Elementary School.
Cereal4All continues to grow due to local partnerships with schools and organizations like Kindness Matters 365, an after-school club focused on interactive opportunities for community service and skill-building. Cereal4All is also working with Florida Atlantic University and its Community Service Club to collaborate on another cereal collection drive for the late spring term.
