Butler Middle School students took part in a community service project Wednesday morning to acknowledge Veterans Day and the hard work United States troops put in.

The students bought food items, such as chips, granola bars and candy, to make care packages for troops in the U.S. Army and Navy deployed abroad.

This is the project’s second year, and it has expanded to include the entire middle school, according to Kara Hovancik, the sixth-grade teacher who led the project.

Last year, only the sixth-grade students participated, but now, the entire school is involved, about 45 classrooms.

This year, the students sent almost 250 packages, an improvement from last year’s 150 boxes.

The project, in recognition of Veterans Day, also serves as an opportunity to teach students about community service, Hovancik said.

“The goal of the teachers and principals involved is to make our students aware of community service projects — to make them aware of what a community service project is and what it means to participate in one,” she said.

Isaac Boring, a sixth-grade student at the middle school, said he learned a valuable lesson about giving back.

“I learned that a little bit of work can go a long way,” he said.

The troops sacrifice a lot, and a simple gesture such as picking up some extra food at the grocery store can be enough of a gesture to show them gratitude, a sentiment from Isaac that fellow sixth-grader Maysen Stewart seconded.

“I think people take for granted the troops,” Maysen said. “You don’t know how hard they’re working.”

Similarly, Emma Stedman, another sixth-grade student, said she liked the feeling of getting involved in community service.

“It made me feel good to know that my peers and I were doing something good,” she said.

But knowing their work has an impact, however small, meant a lot.

“I like being able to help the troops get the stuff they need,” said Kendall Froilan. “This is our way of thanking them for what they do every day.”

The fifth- and sixth-grade students helped load the boxes onto a military truck brought by the unit Hovancik’s husband, Senior Master Sgt. Justin Hovancik, works with, the 911th Security Forces Squadron based in Moon Township, Pa.

The cost for mailing the boxes overseas was about $4,150, paid for by the American Legion Post 117 in Butler. A post office worker also volunteered to pay for one of the boxes, Hovancik said.

Even though the boxes are being sent now, Hovancik said she hopes they will arrive by Christmas, a time when being away from family and friends can be more difficult to handle.