New Brunswick·NewA Grade 8 student in Fredericton used a school fundraiser to give back to his community. What exactly did he give? A whole lot of potatoes. Shamekh Garar raised enough to donate 27 boxes of potatoes to the Greener VillageIsabelle Leger · CBC News · Posted: Oct 10, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoWhen Grade 8 student Shamehk Garar was door-knocking to sell potatoes for his school fundraiser and people wanted to donate money instead, he suggest that money be used to purchase potatoes for the local food bank. (Michael Heenan/CBC)Dubbed the “king of potatoes,” one Grade 8 student in Fredericton turned a school fundraiser into an opportunity to give back to his local food bank.Devon Middle School recently put on its second annual potato fundraiser, in which students go door to door selling 15-pound boxes of potatoes to fund an end-of-year celebration. Drawn in by the thought of a $100 prize for the most sales, Shamekh Garar spent every weekend knocking on doors in the Barker’s Point area and Maugerville. But when people who already had enough potatoes on hand asked if they could offer donations instead, Shamekh had an idea. “I say ‘yeah’ and I came the next day to my teacher and I said that with the money that people donated, they should buy potatoes and donate them to the Greener Village,” said Shamekh. Shamekh said the Greener Village is a special place for him, because his family has used the service. WATCH | ‘I’m so proud of my son,’ says Shamekh’s father:How a New Brunswick middle-school student created a ‘domino effect’ of food bank donationsShamekh Garar, a Grade 8 student at Devon Middle School in Fredericton, participated in the annual potato fundraiser by raising money to buy 27 bags of potatoes for the food bank. “They help a lot of people and Thanksgiving is just the right time,” he said. “It’s important because a lot of people right now in the street are hungry, they have no food to eat and some families can’t afford stuff for Thanksgiving, but they still want to have a dinner.” Grade 8 teacher Nicole Cormier Fontaine said she was touched by Shamekh’s desire to donate boxes of potatoes to the food bank, using the money people donated, instead of building the school celebration fund even more. “I don’t know if I was surprised, because Shamekh has such a big heart and loves to give back, but for him to think of this on his own was just amazing,” said Fontaine. “I said, ‘What a fantastic idea.’”Greener Village CEO Alex Boyd presented Shamekh with a Hunger Buster award for his large donation of potatoes. He has since been dubbed the ‘king of potatoes.’ (Michael Heenan/CBC)In the end, Shamekh was able to buy 27 boxes of potatoes to donate to the Greener Village. While the boy didn’t sell the most potatoes overall, and lost out on the prize, he said it was all worth it in the end.“After I see that many potatoes, I think potatoes are way better than the 100 bucks,” he said. Adil Garar said he supported his son’s mission to provide the Greener Village with potatoes, because his family relied on the food bank’s support when they first moved to Canada. “I am so proud of my son and that the school gave him this chance to help people,” said Garar. “I am so happy — you can see from the biggest smile on my face.” Shamekh’s father Adil Garar is very proud of his son for taking the initiative to give back to a food bank that had supported his family. (Michael Heenan/CBC)Greener Village CEO Alex Boyd said he thought Shamekh’s idea to donate potatoes to the food bank was pretty special. “It’s always meaningful for us to have an impact that changes people, and I think in Shamekh’s case, he saw the value that we brought to his family and to the community and said ‘I recognize that value and am going to find a way to build into that value,’” said Boyd. Boyd presented Shamekh with a “Hunger Buster” certificate in honour of his donation. ABOUT THE AUTHORIsabelle Leger is a reporter based in Fredericton. You can reach her at isabelle.leger@cbc.ca
Fredericton Grade 8 student has spudtacular idea for giving back to his community
