Children at Troy Elementary School have gotten in the giving spirit this season.

In response to a bare food closet at the Pike County Department of Human Resources, children competed in a canned food drive and collected almost 4,000 cans.

“It was very successful,” said Vicki Robinson, a 2nd grade teacher at Troy Elementary School, who coordinated the event. “We thought maybe we would get 1,000, and we well-exceeded our goal.”

Robinson put together the food drive after learning DHR only had green beans on it’s food closet’s shelves, and now, she hopes it will become an annual event.

“Everybody brought bags and bags of canned goods in everyday, and we really didn’t have to do anything to motivate them. They just wanted to,” Robinson said. “We are looking for next year to be even bigger.”

In response to the students’ eagerness to give, some received prizes.

In each grade level, the student with the student with the most cans donated, headed the parade circling around the school Wednesday afternoon.

The parade was Lee Scott’s idea, Robinson said, and all students from all grades were able to participate.

In addition, Florence Mitchell, director of DHR, donated money for each grade’s classroom winners to have a pizza party.

Robinson said other prizes were donated for teachers from C&K Nails, Peppers Papers, Daylight Donuts and Curves, and a $100 gift card was donated from the Parent Teachers Organization.

A truck for the parade was donated by Bill Jackson Chevrolet.