Beginning in Nov. 2025, Lexington High School hosted a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food drive to support community members affected by the recent federal SNAP benefits reduction. 

Mary Gretchen Segars, an academic support teacher who was in charge of the food drive this year, noted that members of the food drive responded to the SNAP reduction with Lexington’s values in mind.

“Lexington Public Schools wanted to back up those values of … ‘revolutionary spirit’ and ‘we all belong.’ We wanted to back that up by doing something like a mutual aid action so that students know how to organize,” Segars said.

The food collected was donated to a food bank in Boston, as well as the Lexington and Arlington food pantries. Participating in the food drive had a significant impact on students.

“It was amazing to watch the kids come together and get excited about helping other people, and a lot of the kids mentioned that they knew of people who were affected by cuts. [They] developed an awareness of what’s happening in the news and connected it to their own lives and lives in the communities around them,” Segars said.

In addition to students at LPS, many students from the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunities (METCO) Program actively assisted in the food drive. 

In the end, Segars emphasized the importance of contributing to and supporting community members who may be affected by the SNAP benefits reduction.

“It was great because everybody came together and worked to put out the boxes, advertise it, talk to people about it, collect the food, organize the food, and distribute the food … It’s like taking a larger issue and making change on that larger issue within the community,” Segars said.