High school students from Federal Way went trick-or-treating on Tuesday night, but they weren’t looking for candy.

They were collecting canned food as a part of the annual We Scare Hunger event. Food donated through the event will be given to the Federal Way Multi-Service Center.

Jinyoung “Audrey” Yoon, a senior at Thomas Jefferson and one of the event’s co-chairs, said it is important for students to help their community.

“In the first-world countries, we get candy, but for others, they can’t even get food,” Yoon said. “I feel like this is a helpful thing for them.”

Before heading door to door to collect canned goods, students gathered at Town Square Park for a rally, which featured Halloween-themed games, a costume contest and performances by Thomas Jefferson High’s drumline and Decatur’s cheer squad.

Federal Way City Councilwoman Lydia Assefa-Dawson spoke to students at the rally. Her son, Caleb Dawson, helped spearhead the food drive his freshman year and continued to organize similar events while away at college.

“I really want to thank you students for continuing his tradition,” she said. “For being involved, for being engaged.”

Assefa-Dawson recalled the first year her son and his friends gathered food.

“It was raining, and I had so many blankets in my car,” she said.

That year, the donations didn’t even fill Assefa-Dawson’s van, but the event grew each year until it became district wide in 2012.

Last year, students gathered more than 2,100 pounds of food, and this year’s goal was to top that.

Federal Way City Councilwoman Lydia Assefa-Dawson speaks to students during the We Scare Hunger rally on Tuesday night. Assefa-Dawson’s son, Caleb Dawson, spearheaded the food collection efforts while attending Federal Way High School. HEIDI SANDERS, the Mirror

Jinyoung “Audrey” Yoon, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School and co-chair of We Scare Hunger, polls the crowd to find a winner of the costume contest. HEIDI SANDERS, the Mirror

Members of Thomas Jefferson High School’s drumline perform at the We Scare Hunger rally. HEIDI SANDERS, the Mirror