Alan Shawn Feinstein on April 17 presented the students at Ferri Middle School in Johnston with a check for $1,000 as an award for a food drive they conducted in December.

Lisa Hunt, the sixth-grade teacher who organized the food drive, said students collected about 2600 cans of food. Principal Dennis Morrell praised the students, saying the project was mainly their work and “they really pulled it together.”

Feinstein also praised the students.

“You are an example for the rest of the country,” he said. “Your food drive spearheads our national campaign to fight hunger. That campaign raises over $200 million every year to feed the needy, and it all started right here in Rhode Island.”

After presenting the check, Feinstein said he was giving each of the students the Official Feinstein Junior Scholarship Card for “helping to make the world a better place.” He explained that on the back of the card are listed places they and their families can go for free, adding, “These are many wonderful places that open the doors to you, because they know you are somebody special who reaches out to help other people.”

He also gave each graduating student the Feinstein Humanitarian Award Card, saying, “This card is to be passed out to every graduate who helped spearhead our national campaign to fight hunger. Keep this card forever. Wherever you go in this country when you show this card, whether you’re looking for a job or applying to college, this card should give you a leg up. More than 2 million people throughout the country participate in our national campaign to fight hunger every year.”

The Feinstein campaign to feed the hungry has been going on for nearly 20 years.

“Someday, when your teachers and I have gone, you are going to be the ones who continue what we do,” Feinstein told the students.

He ended by telling the students, “If you see me on TV, please don’t say ‘That’s Mr. Feinstein.’ They say, ‘That’s Alan Shawn Feinstein. He is my friend. I’m a Feinstein Junior Scholar.’”