WEST JORDAN — Last year, it started with a modest goal.
Oquirrh Elementary School Principal Shauna Worthington, in her first year as principal of the Title I school, was concerned that some of her students might not have enough to eat over the winter recess.
Half of the West Jordan school’s students qualify for free or reduced-price school breakfast and lunch. Although the Jordan School District offers free breakfast and lunch to students over the summer recess, there is no similar program over the holiday break.
So Worthington asked the community to contribute 620 boxes of cereal to give every student one to take home. The community responded in droves and all told, 2,800 boxes of cereal were given, which dozens of volunteers thoughtfully gift-wrapped for each child to open and the gifts were shared with the district’s other Title I schools.
This year, Worthington set a goal of 4,000 boxes of cereal to, again, provide a box for each of Oquirrh Elementary’s students and have plenty to share among the six other Title I elementary schools in Jordan District.
When people started dropping off the cereal last week, some 15,000 boxes of cereal were donated, with some people bringing a box or two and others showing up with 100. Some were even delivered in Amazon boxes.
People from Ogden to Nephi contributed to what is now dubbed The Cereal Project, Worthington said.
On Monday night, 425 of Worthington’s friends joined her in the school multipurpose room to gift wrap and box 15,000 boxes of cereal that this year will go to students at 17 Jordan District schools, including some middle and high schools principals’ pantries.
“I can’t believe it all came together,” Worthington said.
At the all-school holiday singalong Thursday, Worthington revealed hundreds of larger boxes stocked with wrapped cereal boxes on the school’s stage.
“That is a big wall of cereal,” she told the students.
Although most of the students received a box of cereal last year, Worthington shared an unexpected surprise: This year, each Oquirrh Elementary student would be going home with two boxes of cereal.
The announcement was met with ear-splitting screams and applause that rivaled the rock-star greeting Santa Claus received when made a brief appearance at the school.
Following the assembly, Oquirrh Elementary students returned to their classrooms to open their gifts.
The cereal boxes in Brooke Payton’s third-grade classroom were gifted by a young man as his Eagle Scout project. He’s a wrestler and asked members of the team to help him wrap the presents.
As the students unwrapped their respective boxes, they let out squeals of delight.
“I got Lucky Charms!” one boy shrieked.
Another hollered, “I got Apple Jacks.”
“Hey, you got two Cap’n Crunches,” another student observed.
Lexi Kemp, 8, received a box of Original Cheerios and a box of Life, which suited her fine.
“I like Cheerios and I like Life,” she said. “It’s amazing.”
Classmate Leonardo Flores Trujillo, 9, said his gift of cereal was going to be “tasty” at home.
“I can’t wait to eat this. They’re going to be good,” he effused.
And if two boxes of cereal wasn’t enough of a bonus, one of the boxes contained a prize.
“I got a free character inside. I’m super excited!” Leonardo said.
`