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Explore a drive that connects student leadership, learning, and service with support from Surmount.
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Youth leadership + community service
PB and J Drive
Small acts of service.
A community that cares.
Students learn about hunger, lead a school collection drive, and turn everyday donations into food and encouragement for their neighbors.
Who participatesMiddle and high school students
Where we workYonkers + New York City
How it worksSchool partnerships + community service
The purpose
Meet a need.
Develop a leader.
Food insecurity affects families in the communities where our students live and learn. PB and J Drive gives young people a practical way to respond while building the confidence to lead.
Surmount works with school staff and student leaders to connect hunger awareness with action: promoting a collection drive, organizing donations, speaking to peers, and adding personal messages to meal bags.
The program connects two goals—supporting neighbors facing hunger and helping students experience themselves as capable contributors to their community.
From learning to action
How the drive comes together.
- 01
Prepare student leaders
Training covers hunger awareness, teamwork, announcements, public speaking, and planning. School staff and Surmount volunteers support students throughout.
- 02
Mobilize the school
Student leaders promote peanut butter and jelly donations through announcements, posters, and collection points, then help track the drive’s progress.
- 03
Add creativity and care
On Bag Designing Day, students share what they have learned and invite classmates to decorate meal bags with artwork and encouraging messages.
- 04
Serve the community
Community Sandwich Making Day brings volunteers together to prepare and package meals for distribution through community partners.
Documented 2026 program results
Service you can see.
Reported to the board in April 2026
315meal bags created
204students in a school awareness campaign
3participating schools
Source: April 2026 board report. The figures below document the previous year’s project separately.
A foundation to build on
The 2025 drive.
The submitted Sodexo Stop Hunger post-project report documented school partnerships in Yonkers and Harlem and community distribution of sandwich meal bags.
302meals
315youth volunteers
495youth volunteer hours
Source: 2025 Sodexo Stop Hunger Grantee Post-Project Impact Report, submitted June 15, 2025. These figures describe the 2025 project and are separate from the 2026 results above.
More than a collection drive
Learning that stays
with students.
Students practice communication, teamwork, organization, and follow-through while learning about hunger and local support systems.
In 2025 feedback, students described learning about leadership responsibility, presenting to others, and working as a team. Requests for more practice time and hands-on activities also offered practical lessons for future delivery.
Surmount uses program counts, student reflections, school feedback, and questions about confidence and hunger awareness to understand the experience and improve the program.
For donors, foundations, and community partners
Help students lead.
Help neighbors feel supported.
Support can help cover food and meal-packing supplies, collection materials, student training, printing, and the coordination that brings schools and volunteers together.
Program questions.
Who can take part?
The school-based program serves middle and high school students through school partnerships. Community volunteers support the service component. Contact Surmount to discuss the right fit for your school or group.
What support do student leaders receive?
Student leaders work with school staff, fellow students, and Surmount volunteers. Training and shared responsibilities help them prepare; students are not expected to buy donations or manage transport and logistics on their own.
Can our group join a sandwich-making day?
Contact Surmount about upcoming opportunities and group participation. Dates, locations, and registration details are confirmed for each event.
How can a foundation learn more?
Contact contact@wesurmount.org to discuss the program model, current funding needs, and available program reporting.
Make the next step possible
Invest in community action.
Support Surmount’s programs and the people who bring them to life.