A group of students at Coupeville Elementary School spent busy weeks collecting food for Gifts from the Heart food bank, which serves low-income families in Coupeville and Greenbank.

Each member of the school’s Leadership Club, which consists of about 15 students, had assigned classrooms to collect the bins, fourth-grader Anika Rasmussen said.

Fellow leadership club member Ja’Kenya Hoskins noted that some of the bins were overflowing when they picked them up.

The club had a goal for each class during the food drive. For classes in kindergarten through first-grade, the goal was 100 nonperishable food items. For classes in third-grade through fifth-grade, the goal was 150 food items. The food drive ended Dec. 20 in time for the winter break.

Classes that achieve the goal will get a treat — a lollipop dance performed by Principle Dave Ebersole.

He will dance in a classroom wearing a top hat adorned with lollipops and other decorations, Rasmussen said.

“Mr. Ebersole throws out lollipops to the kids,” fourth-grader Mckenna Somes said.

Fourth-grader Isabelle Wells added that three or four students will wear reindeer hats and bells and join Ebersole.

Jon Gabelein, who is the club advisor, said more than 1,000 items had been collected as of Dec. 17.

The high school also conducted a food drive that wrapped up Dec. 20.

Molly Hughes, director of  Gifts from the Heart, said the collections from the schools help the food bank get through January and February.

“For several years, the high school food drive is our biggest one of the year,” Hughes said. She noted the elementary school provided other help to the food bank when the fifth-grade class recently donated cases of oranges and grapefruit.

Gifts from the Heart typically dispenses food the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month from locations in Coupeville and Greenbank.