West Hills students had one goal before Thanksgiving break: bring 5,000 cans of food to donate to the Utah Food Bank.

“The second-to-last day, we had 2,500 cans so we were very nervous,” said Rachel Reid, a language arts teacher and student government adviser who helped oversee the drive. “We had 2,700 cans come in on the last day. It was very exciting.”

The motivation came in the form of pies. For every 1,000 cans the students donated, they were promised a pie to throw at Assistant Principal Caleb Olsen. As an additional incentive, two student body officers volunteered to have pies thrown at them.

The grade that brought the most cans of food earned the opportunity to attend an assembly where a few of the students would take turns throwing pies at their human targets.

“Because the eighth-grade class brought the most food, they’re the ones that get to throw the pies,” said Ellen Stemle, a language arts teacher and adviser to the student body officers. “A couple of the kids throwing pies are the ones that brought in 500 cans of food. A couple are from the classrooms that brought the most food per student.”

Some of the students took the challenge beyond just raiding the kitchen cupboards.

“We had one student that went around and did a food drive in his own neighborhood. He was someone that brought almost 500 cans,” Reid said. “Another student and their family did a haunted house, and the admission was to bring cans of food that they turned in.”

The students were able to track the progress toward their goal on a poster hanging in the main office. They surpassed their goal by bringing in 5,243 cans of food for the Utah Food Bank.

“We just started last year and had similar success, so we set it up again this year,” Reid said. “It’s a good way to get the students involved.”