There’s something about cereal that every family stocks up on — and high school teens relate to, fondly. Think Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios, for starters.
Rolling Meadows students start transporting cereal boxes.
Perhaps that explains why the Cereal Bowl competition, between Elk Grove and Rolling Meadows high schools, brings in thousands of boxes each year, and all to stock the Elk Grove Township Food Pantry.
“Cereal is one of those things that families pick up first at the food pantry,” says Joe Bush, a social studies teacher at Elk Grove, who teaches the Leadership Through Service Class, that helped to launch the competition back in 2016. “Plus, from a collection standpoint, they’re easy to collect and easy to count.”
It’s not just families that stock up on cereal at the food pantry, says Isabella Manzo, Elk Grove Township administrator. Fixed income seniors also enjoy the selection of cereals on hand, especially the healthier ones.
Bush credits Paul Pioch with starting the bowl. Pioch formerly led Elk Grove Township as Supervisor and during his nearly 10 years of service, he is credited with expanding the food pantry and converting it into a client-choice model, allowing families to shop for what they needed.
Right from the start, the Cereal Bowl was conceived as a competition between Elk Grove and Rolling Meadows, since both schools are located within the Elk Grove Township district. The drive to collect the most cereal ends when the two schools play each other in football, which this year falls on Sept. 26 at Elk Grove.
“So many boxes came in last year during the game,” Manzo says. “We were still counting them through halftime.”
Elk Grove student carries the load (2024).
Bush says that the first couple of years were pretty casual, and they collected between 2,000 to 3,000 boxes.
“But we’ve become more organized, involving more kids and becoming more focused on the collection,” he says. “Last year, the two schools combined to collect more than 7,000 boxes, setting a new record.”
Manzo described last year’s totals as “mind-blowing,” but she adds that they have gone through nearly all of them. With the pantry consistently drawing 1,100 households per month, they need every box.
“We’re so lucky to offer such a variety,” Manzo says. “We’ve distributed all of the boxes and are down to our last bin. We’re so grateful they’ve lasted this long.”
Former Rolling Meadows Athletic Director Jim Voyles joined with English teacher and soccer coach, Caleb Parnin, to organize students the first few years. Last year, Cindy Pena, moderator of the Stampede service club joined with Eileen Herbster, moderator of the National Honor Society, in overseeing the drive.
“One of the best parts of this event is how it brings our entire school community together,” Herbster says, adding that the competition now draws in the Rotary Interact Club, Student Council, sports teams and fine arts students to participate in the competition, building momentum toward the finish line.
Rolling Meadows students prepare to load boxes into the township truck.
Rolling Meadows students started in late July, leaving collection bags at houses in the Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows neighborhoods. They also made a push at the Friday Night Lights for All event on Aug. 15.
Bush and his Elk Grove student leaders have been making videos to promote the collection throughout the school and on social media. On Sunday, they will go door-to-door in surrounding neighborhoods leaving bags to collect cereal boxes, before returning the following Sunday to retrieve them.
Both schools are accepting donations at their respective schools as well as at their feeder schools, while also collecting donations at home football games, leading up to the big matchup on Sept. 26.
While the competition continues through September, Herbster already is thrilled with the response: “Our final total will not be for some time, but we can safely say we are well on our way to success.”
One school will be named the winner, but Bush says students are in it for more than bragging rights: “The big winner is the Elk Grove Township food pantry.”
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