Pentucket schools hold second Good Neighbor Challenge Nov. 9-13

Pentucket Regional School District will hold its second annual Good Neighbor Challenge Nov. 9-13, the Town of West Newbury announced. The friendly competition between the district's schools benefits Our Neighbors' Table in Amesbury, a nonprofit that provides community-based access to food for residents in its service area.

Students, faculty and family members at each school are invited to donate nonperishable food items and personal care items during the week.

Schools earn points under a set system: one point for each food or personal item, or for each $1 donated, and two points for items on a "most needed" list. That list includes canned pumpkin, canned cranberry sauce, gravy (canned or packets), canned cream of mushroom soup, stuffing mix, instant potatoes or potato flakes, pumpkin bread or bread mixes, and baking mixes or kits.

Because school populations differ, each school's total points will be divided by the number of students and adults in the building to determine the winner.

The winner will be announced Monday, Nov. 16. The winning school will receive the Good Neighbor Award at the Dec. 15 School Committee meeting.

In the inaugural challenge, Sweetsir School in Merrimac won with 23.08 points per person and received a commemorative plaque displayed in the school. The district collected 9,000 food items that year, with an estimated value of $10,000, for Our Neighbors' Table. This year, the district hopes to increase its donations to the organization, a longtime partner.

"It was amazing to see how engaged students were in the initiative last year," Superintendent Dr. Justin Bartholomew said in the release. He said the challenge is also a chance for students to become aware of disparities that exist in their own communities and to make a meaningful contribution.

Source: Town of West Newbury announcement, November 4, 2026.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the original announcement.