Not only did middle school students enjoy themselves at the annual Harvest Games, held Nov. 21 at Hampton Bays Middle School, but they also collected more than 400 food items, which will be donated to the Hampton Bays Food Pantry.

Wearing class colors, students in fifth through eighth grade rivaled each other in nine field day-type events for the title of Harvest Games class winner. After competing in events such as stack the cups, the corn toss and the tug-o-war, the eighth-grade class earned enough points to be deemed the winner. The seventh grade came in second, followed by the fifth and sixth grades.

As part of the schoolwide event, students made posters and wrote essays on the history of Thanksgiving. In addition, each grade was challenged to collect as much food for the food pantry as possible, earning points that went toward their Harvest Games score. The sixth grade rose to the top with the most food collected.

The students also raised $250 that will be donated to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in the name of William Lindsay, who passed away from the disease. Mr. Lindsay’s grandchildren attend the school, and his daughter works for the district.