As demonstrated by last year’s Dowagiac United campaign, the students of Dowagiac Union Schools are used to uniting behind a common cause.

This week, Chieftains are challenged to throw their collective might against an issue that is all too common across Dowagiac and other communities — childhood hunger.

Sodexo Food Service is once again sponsoring the district’s “End it with Orange” campaign, asking students to pitch in help support needy families living in Cass County.

Beginning on Monday and running through the rest of the week, district students are asked to bring in canned or nonperishable food items to their school cafeteria or front office. The collected food items will be donated to Dowagiac’s ACTION ministry network food pantry, which serves struggling families throughout the greater Dowagiac area.

On Friday, children are encouraged to wear orange clothing to show their support for the collection effort, both here in Dowagiac and across the U.S., said Food Services Director Deb Cahill.

“It shows that all of us here are supporting our community, by donating and helping those in need,”

This is the second year that Dowagiac has been a part of the “End it with Orange” campaign, which is organized nationally by the No Hungry Kid program as part of September’s Hunger Awareness Month. The collection effort was quite successful last year, with many kids both donating food and wearing orange clothing to close out the week, Cahill said.

As with last year, food services doesn’t have a set donation goal, but simply encourages local families to give what they can for the drive.

“We’re a community that doesn’t have a lot, so for people to give it takes a lot,” Cahill said. “Whatever people can do will be appreciated.”