Trick Or Treat For The Newtown Food Pantry

By Larissa Lytwyn

Kaitlyn Herwig has always loved Halloween.

But when she was 13 years old, the teen began to feel that she was too old to trick-or-treat. So the then-Massachusetts resident decided to continue the tradition in a new way.

“She began collecting canned goods for local food pantries,” said Kaitlyn’s mother, Christine Herwig. “Her goal was 100 pounds. The first year we collected 300 pounds!”

After moving to Connecticut last year, the Newtown High School freshman took off last Halloween, her mother said. This year, however, the sophomore helped collect 500 pounds from local residents.

“At first, she had two friends willing to join her,” Ms Herwig said. “But as time passed, word spread and more people became interested.”

During the first few weeks of October, Kaitlyn and several friends distributed flyers through densely populated neighborhoods encouraging residents to stock up on canned goods.

On Halloween, Kaitlyn and several friends visited homes with the greeting, “Trick or Treat for the Newtown Food Pantry!”

“If eight people came to the door, it was likely that each one of them would get a can,” said Ms Herwig. “Soon, Kaitlyn was telling everyone to come to the door together, so that more could be collected!”

Next year, Kaitlyn has set a goal of collecting 1,000 pounds. “There’s so much [in the media] about teens with problems,” said Ms Herwig. “But there are a lot of great kids out there! It’s great for them to be recognized.”