“My mom and I hand out McDonald’s gift cards to homeless people, but this is a way of making a pretty big difference,” says Bianca, for whom the initiative was her Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) project. She reached out to Sandwich Sisters six weeks ago. That group of eight women, who started by delivering 200 sandwiches to Good Shepherd Ministries in March, has seen its ranks increase to close to 20 “pods,” with hopes to deliver 100,000 sandwiches by year’s end.

Initially, the Branksome pod, the organization's first composed of students, made 24 sandwiches each per week. Bianca collected their sandwiches and dropped them off at the shelter. (That number is what’s estimated from two loaves of bread). Branksome pod members Bianca, Brooke, Nicole, Keri and Liya worked with deli meat and peanut butter, but the Sandwich Sisters did not recommend lettuce or tomato, which would have made the sandwiches soggy, says Bianca.  

To move things along, they reached out to Branksome parents, who registered for a five-minute time slot on Sunday, November 28. Two at a time to respect social distancing, car deliveries arrived at the Senior School with sandwiches, along with water and baked goods. Families donated between 15 and 40 sandwiches, doubling the original target. 

“We’re talking about holding another drive-through event,” says Bianca. “Especially as it starts to get colder, the food will really help.”