80,000 Bowls of Cereal Collected

Credit: BHH

(Press Release) Boca Raton, FL (May 14, 2024) --Cereal4All, which runs an annual cereal drive organized by twin brothers Jett and Luke Justin, collected more than 80,000 bowls of cereal during this year’s spring drive and donated it to Boca Helping Hands (BHH). This donation means that Boca Helping Hands will be able to provide clients with 8,007 boxes of cereal. The Justins, 16-year-old twin brothers and Boca Raton residents, attend American Heritage School in Delray Beach. 
 
This year, Jett and Luke had a goal of collecting 4,000 pounds of cereal to donate to BHH across 20 schools in Palm Beach County. They ended up collecting 10,619 pounds of cereal, more than doubling their initial goal of 4000 pounds.

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Since 2016, BHH has received approximately 250,000 bowls-worth of cereal from Cereal4All’s food drives. The organization’s impact has grown beyond Palm Beach County, with student ambassadors expanding its reach through more than 40 schools in Florida, 25 schools in other states, and one in Canada, now benefitting 40 food banks across the U.S., Ontario, and the Bahamas. This has resulted in nearly 420,000 bowls of cereal donated to kids and families in need.
 
"We created Cereal4all to fight hunger around America's breakfast tables because millions of American families suffer from food insecurity, which means they can't always afford enough meals for everyone in their homes. Those families depend on food banks to help ease their hunger issues. Since breakfast food is one of the least donated items to food banks, that means pantry bags of meals distributed to families in need are often missing breakfast food,” said Luke Justin.
 
Local schools that participated in the cereal drive included Calusa Elementary, Verde K-8, Sunrise Park Elementary, St. Joan of Arc Catholic School, Village Academy Delray, Morikami Park Elementary, Whispering Pines Elementary, Grandview Preparatory School, West Boca High School, Florida Atlantic University, Del Prado University, Boca Raton Elementary School, Addison Mizner School, Blue Lake Elementary, Loggers Run Middle School, Olympic Heights High School, Spanish River High School, Banyan Creek Elementary, JCC Zale Early Childhood Learning Center, and Pierce Hammock Elementary. During the drive, students at the schools made posters, donated cereal, kept the cereal donations organized at school, and helped load large amounts of cereal for transportation to BHH’s food bank.
 
In addition to the 20 schools, Cereal4All has partnerships with several businesses. The work they do would not be possible without the support of Publix, Target, Kindness Matters 365, and the FAU Community Service Club.

"The other part of Cereal4all's mission is to make students more aware of food insecurity in their communities," said Jett Justin. "The happy connection young people have with cereal makes the sad facts of food insecurity more personal for them. Students can clearly imagine what it means to have an empty bowl. That can spark their compassion and get them more engaged in the fight against hunger."

Jett and Luke organized their first cereal drive for BHH in 2016 at their school, Calusa Elementary, when they were just eight years old. Despite their busy high school schedules and being active members in the Boca Raton Civil Air Patrol Squadron, the Justin brothers devote a significant amount of time to working on Cereal4all so they can expand their impact and help provide even more relief to families struggling with food insecurity.
 
“Running a nonprofit can be hard work, but Cereal4all is one of the most fulfilling things my brother and I do. There’s really no better feeling than making a positive difference in someone else’s life,” said Luke Justin.