WILTON — Students at Cushing School spent last week stuffing a turkey with food and toiletry items for the Wilton Area Food Pantry.

Over 350 items were brought to the pantry by teacher Heidi Luce, Wilton Food Pantry Director Kitty McDonald said Friday. That’s on top of the more than 1,000 items collected by students at the Academy Hill School, she said.

At Cushing, each day had a different theme for items: Monday, pasta; Tuesday, paper products; Wednesday, boxed foods, cereals and stuffing; Thursday, canned goods, fruits and vegetables; Friday, shampoo, deodorant, soap and toothpaste.

The pantry is at Wilton Methodist Church, school secretary Cathy Ibarguen said.

The food pantry is quite busy, McDonald said. They received government surplus foods last week, as well as purchasing some items.

People have donated turkeys for the 135-plus Thanksgiving baskets that will be given, she said. Families with one to three people will receive a large chicken, and families of four or more will get a turkey, she said.

The Rev. Laura Church will bring her youth group from her second church in North Vienna to help fill the baskets and tote them out to cars, she said. Boy Scouts and church volunteers will also help.

abryant@sunjournal.com