Students buried a football field under 250,000 pounds of food

Hundreds of New Jersey students buried Howell High School's football field under more than a quarter-million pounds of donated food last week, filling the end zones with thousands of bright yellow bags. The haul, collected during the second annual 100-Yard Food Drive Challenge, is the largest in the history of the nonprofit Dermer Dreams. The food has already gone to 30 food banks across the state, including Lunch Break, Fulfill and the Howell Food Bank. The football team pitched in to load the rented trucks, which is a reasonable use of people who are good at carrying things. "These students did more than collect food. They united communities and demonstrated the power of working together," said co-founder Dan Dermer, who runs the drive alongside his wife, Alyse. The group started in 2019 after the couple noticed local teenagers hunting for community service hours. This year built on an inaugural 2025 event at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.