In 2009, current Upper School Service Learning Coordinator Claire Nuchtern (‘11) created Slammin Sandwiches as a student. Fifteen years later, Nuchtern is ecstatic to see that the project is still alive.
Every Thursday at 7:45 AM students gather in Flores Hall to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which are then stored and chilled in the cafeteria for at least 24 hours. On Friday, Second Servings, a non-profit organization that serves food to the unhoused, collects the sandwiches and distributes them.
“It’s great that so many people participate every week,” Nuchtern said. “It’s really rewarding to see that something I started when I was in high school still exists.”
Slammin’ Sandwiches is run by senior Janie Boom, juniors Samantha Anaipakos and Edwin Rodriguez and sophomore Raka Agrawal.
Volunteers make about 100 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a week, and around 3000 sandwiches in a school year.
During the week, the project leaders coordinate with the cafeteria staff to supply the ingredients needed to make the sandwiches, while Nuchtern supplies the gloves, table clothes and utensils.
Rodriguez says the project typically uses two tables, with students assembling the sandwiches on one, and passing it on to the other for packaging.
“We get a bunch of people to work in an assembly line,” he said.
Rodriguez says that Slammin’ Sandwiches is currently working towards making more sandwiches and encouraging more volunteers to attend.
“We really are trying to get more underclassmen involved, so we can have enough volunteers each week to make more sandwiches in the future,” Rodriguez said.