HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — About 900 students and dozens of parents, teachers and community partners are volunteering on Friday at Navigator Academy in Valrico to help those struggling with ongoing food insecurity since last year’s hurricanes.

Volunteers will pack 100,000 meals and 500 personal hygiene boxes to be distributed to those in need at a later date.

It’s all part of Serve Day at Navigator Academy, teaching students the importance of volunteering and helping others.

“We’ve had many families coming in and are supporting the students doing this,” said Dr. Diane LaFrance with Compass LLC. “This really has been student centered where they are the ones coming in saying, ‘We’d love to do this.’”

Preparations for Serve Day at the school started earlier this week, with equipment and supplies arriving to be sorted for packing on Friday.

Students said the donations range from much needed food relief to things like soap and razors.

“We will be putting deodorant, shaving cream, razors, soap, wash clothes,” said Navigator Academy eighth grader Keltie Shapiro. “And in the food products there will be rice, corn, chicken and many foods and they will be packaged.”

Navigator Academy officials said its Serve Days are part of the school’s curriculum, encouraging kids to participate in their community and help those in need.

“We pride ourselves in raising and teaching leaders, and part of leadership is serving our community, and we are super excited to do this,” said Principal Maria Owen.

Navigator Academy’s Serve Day runs from 9 a.m. through noon with donations being distributed in the coming days and weeks by various community organizations.