El Toro High food drive sets school record with more than 115,000 cans

Ian Hanigan

El Toro High students hold a banner that reads "116,657"Another year, another school record for El Toro High.

Last year we reported that the Lake Forest campus collected 111,922 cans during the El Toro High Annual Canned Food Drive, establishing a new high for the schoolwide campaign that spans two weeks in November.

El Toro High students sort cans of food
El Toro High School students sort goods collected during the campus’ annual food drive, which set a new school record this year. (Photos courtesy of Christopher Nguyen)

Well, the students and staff outdid themselves again in 2017, netting 116,657 cans of food by the Nov. 17 deadline, according to Christopher Nguyen, El Toro’s director of student activities. He said the goal was to reach 115,000.

All items will be distributed through the Adopt-a-Neighbor and South County Outreach programs, and each canned good will be logged as a kind act on OCDE’s One Billion Acts of Kindness website.

“We feel overwhelmed with the love that is poured out from all of our students,” Nguyen told the Orange County Register, which ran a story on the drive last week. “Students are able to raise the bar and surpass it year after year through all the love that they show for those (who) are less fortunate. Love is contagious on campus.”

Will they shoot for a new record in 2018? We’ll find out next year.