Menlo-Atherton High School

• 555 Middlefield Road Atherton, CA 94027
• 650.322.5311

The Menlo-Atherton Canned Food Drive has been a revered tradition since its creation in 1999 by Coach Parks. The first Canned Food Drive collected 5,000 cans for families in need in our community and started a proud M-A tradition. Last year, our canned food drive brought in over 238,000 cans and just over $20,000. We have been awarded the Second Harvest Food Drive Blue Diamond Award for “Outstanding Food and Fund Drive Donor” in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,2014, 2015 and 2016. M-A is the only high school in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties to receive this honor, on level with companies such as Google and Cisco.


The M-A Canned Food Drive is a community-centered event devoted to feeding families in need both in our school and our local communities. M-A students reach out to the community and collect food and money by "canning" outside of local grocery stores. M-A also hosts a special distribution day at the end of the food drive at Ecumenical Hunger in East Palo Alto, giving out a portion of the food collected and feeding over 600 families. The M-A Canned Food Drive offers students a unique opportunity to connect and serve their community. Use the following link to view a student’s photo essay.

The following link will bring you to the student leadership canned food drive website. The website has detailed information about goals, canning, contests and how to sign-up to receive food on distribution day.

To Canned Food Website

The annual M-A Holiday Gift Drive helps to brighten the holidays of families in need within the M-A community.  Each year we fulfill the holiday wish lists of around 80 families. We invite all members of the community to participate in our gift giving program.  

Program Details:

We are looking for families and groups to sponsor or adopt a family to help make their wishes come true. By participating in the Holiday Gift Drive, your family, office, church, book club, sports team, scout troop, professional organization, church, and or social group can directly give to a family within our own M-A community.

As a donor, you will receive a wish list for an M-A family. The wish lists include names, ages, sizes, favorite colors and toy requests to make your shopping fun and easy. Our goal is to provide $30 gifts to family members age 18 and under and a gift card for the family. Gifts should include a toy for small children. Wrapped gifts can be directly delivered to Menlo-Atherton High School on December 18th. If you have further questions you can contact our hard working elves at magiftdrive@seq.org.

Sign-up to be a donor

To become a gift donor, sign up here. You will receive your family's wish-list at the beginning of December. You can also give a monetary donation of any amount that will go directly to buying gifts. Monetary donations can be dropped off at the M-A main office. Make checks payable to Holiday Gift Drive

Shopping Hints

Here are a few hints to help with shopping. Gifts should be around $30 per person for family members age 18 years and younger. Please, also include a $25 - $50 gift card for the family. These values are guidelines. Please use your own discretion. Please provide a toy for all children. Popular choices are Barbies, doll sets, Dora, princesses, art supplies, trucks, star wars, legos, and sports balls and equipment. Favorite colors can be used for clothing requests. Warm pajamas and sweatshirts are always great ideas. Please include gift receipts.

If you are completely stuck for what to get teenagers on your lists, gift cards are great – just please wrap them like a present.

For many of our families, these will be the only gifts that they will receive. This year we are focusing on presents for students 18 and younger. We have provided you with the number of adults in the household. If you choose, you can increase the value of the family gift card based on the family size. If you wish, you can provide a family gift like blankets, kitchen wares, family games, candy or other holiday treats. Another choice would be to buy the adults a warm hat or scarf. Buying for the adults in the family is completely optional and left to your discretion.

Gift Drop-Off

Gifts should be wrapped and labeled for each person. All the gifts for one family should be enclosed in one or two large closable bags. Attach the family wish list to the outside of the large bag. Be sure to include gift receipts for easy returns.

Wrapped gifts can be directly delivered to

Shopping hints and drop-off information will be sent to the donors with the link to the family wish list around the first of December. Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, please email us at magiftdrive@seq.org

"Never doubt that a small dedicated group of people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead