North Brookfield Elementary School in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, which serves
approximately 315 students, raised $2,491 through the 2025 Hannaford Helps Schools program.

It has been very impactful! The Hannaford Helps Schools program has really supported our efforts to reinforce positive behaviors across the schools.

We are a PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) school, so we have a program to incentivize students for displaying expected behaviors. For us, that's 'STAR' behavior: being Safe, Thoughtful and Kind, Attentive, and Responsible. We created a school store, The Starbuck Shop, with different levels of incentives, ranging from experiential rewards to little things kids enjoy.

"The Hannaford Helps Schools program has really supported our efforts to reinforce positive behaviors across the school."

Our PBIS team is responsible for running the Hannaford Helps Schools program at our school.

I spoke with the store manager at Hannaford. Our donation this year was significantly larger than last year’s. He also explained the new digital system that allows people to select schools and make contributions. We’re fortunate to have a Hannaford right in our community, making it a main destination for both community members and students. This has been a great collaboration.

We have materials in the office that provide information about the program, but I think most of the outreach happens through word of mouth. People have been participating for years. This year, though, we probably increased our donations by about 30%, thanks to the digital component.

It's really about creating a program in school where kids can take home things they're excited about, things they've earned here. School can be hard, and we want to make it fun, so kids feel valued. That piece is really important to us. When we talk to people or have celebrations, we always mention that a lot of this is funded by our Hannaford Help Schools program. I think that hits home for a lot of people.

"When we talk to people or have celebrations, we always mention that a lot of this is funded by our Hannaford Help Schools program. I think that hits home for a lot of people."

No, I think that, again, being a small community and with Hannaford as one of the biggest employers and the hub of our town, the biggest difference was probably the digital aspect. It made it easier for families to identify us and removed barriers they might have faced in accessing the program.

So, that's been great.

The local Hannaford's store manager’s son attends our school. Many of the store's employees are former students as well. Hannaford is truly a community place and the hub of our downtown. Everyone recognizes what Hannaford does for our school, and it’s been a great partnership

As I mentioned, we have things like a "Star of the Month" celebration breakfast, which is funded through our student activity funds. Our superintendent has been gracious in recognizing the importance of the student activities account and fully supports it. Additionally, all funds from Hannaford fundraising go directly into that account, which has been incredibly helpful.

We use this account to fund field trips, maintain our PBIS store, and host celebrations; it’s all designated specifically for students. It truly supports and drives so much of what we do here.

We’re working to spread the word even further. Our recent growth was really driven by word of mouth and simply talking about the program. Whenever we’re with parents, or kids are heading home, we make sure to mention that Hannaford Helps School’s helped get us here.

My administrative assistant's children attend our school, and she often talks about the program. It's something that's becoming more widely known, but we want to push awareness even more. Ideally, we'd like to raise close to $3,000 next year.

No matter what, these efforts benefit our school and our students. They allow us to offer exciting opportunities, especially for students who come from low-income backgrounds or have experienced trauma. School is a place they love, and funds like these always make their experience better.

"Our recent growth was really driven by word of mouth and simply talking about the program. Whenever we’re with parents, or kids are heading home, we make sure to mention that Hannaford Helps Schools helped get us here."

When I say "store," it's important to mention that students can earn STAR-bucks for a variety of reasons. When we first started, we wanted to stock the store with things kids like, such as squish meows, to make it appealing.

We ensure that every student has access to the store, including those with disabilities or emotional and behavioral challenges, or students who might just have tough days sometimes.

Creating an equitable environment is a top priority for us. Every student leaves with something they want, not just those who excel in everything every day. Every child has their own bar to reach, and we make an effort to incentivize each of them appropriately because every bar is different. That’s something we really strive for and take pride in.

Posted January 20, 2026.