It was a souper week at Islip’s Maud S. Sherwood Elementary School leading up to the NFL’s Super Bowl XLVI game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. To prepare for the game, the students participated in the Souper Bowl, collecting more than 200 cans of nonperishable food items for the Methodist Church food pantry. Souper Bowl is a national effort to capitalize on the hype created around the National Football League’s Super Bowl as a time to mobilize youth to fight hunger and poverty in their local communities.

“It was a great week,” said school social worker Trisha Tramaglini, who organized the event. “The kids really got into it, and many even wore their jerseys on the last day to support their favorite team.”