Students at Williams Field High School collected nearly 15,000 pounds of food during their annual “Stuff the Bus” drive, exceeding their original goal and marking the largest single-day donation of the year for United Food Bank.

The National Honor Society organized the five-week effort, which aimed to gather 12,000 pounds of nonperishable items to help fight hunger in the East Valley. The final total reached 14,848 pounds, according to the food bank.

“This is always our single biggest donation from any school,” Maddie Mittelstaedt, a representative for United Food Bank, said in a release. “We are so grateful to partner with them every year.”

The food bank said donations are especially important this time of year as supplies are replenished following Thanksgiving distributions.

Megan Spitler, the school’s National Honor Society adviser, said students were eager to help.

“I’m just very excited to be able to restock the United Food Bank after they distributed so much food the last couple of weeks for Thanksgiving and other events,” Spitler said in the release.

Students delivered the food Nov. 25 to the United Food Bank Volunteer Center in Mesa.

The effort is part of Higley Unified School District’s #HigleyHelps initiative, which encourages students to work with nonprofit partners on service-learning projects.