LADSON, S.C. – An anti-religion group is celebrating its recent success in shutting down a elementary school fundraiser that would have food and money to a local church’s food pantry.

Dorchester District 2 officials in Ladson, South Carolina received a letter from The American Humanist Association shortly before Thanksgiving threatening litigation over the charitable works of students at Oakbrook Elementary School, who were raising money and food for Old Fort Baptist Church’s food pantry, The Post and Courier reports.

“The purpose of this letter is to advise you that such school-sponsored fundraising efforts – the proceeds of which go directly to an evangelical Christian Church – must immediately cease, and that our organization will pursue the matter through litigation in federal court if it does not,” Monica Miller, an attorney with the Appignani Humanist Legal Center in Washington, D.C., wrote in the letter.

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David Niose, legal director of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center wrote in an email Thursday that district officials “agreed not to sponsor or endorse churches or religious institutions in the future.”

“We strongly support charitable giving, but the good intentions of fundraisers and food drives can be achieved in ways that do not favor any religion,” he wrote, according to the news site.

Students at Oakbrook were selling “Thank You Grams” and using the money to buy groceries for the church’s food pantry. The humanist group alleges the fundraiser violated the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause, which “commands a separation of church and state,” according to Miller’s letter cited by The Summerville Journal Scene.

District attorney John Reagle responded to the threat of litigation by explaining that the fundraiser did not violate the Establishment Clause because “OES’s provision of canned food to the food pantry would not create any entanglement between the school and the religious affiliated food pantry,” but that the school will “refrain from endorsing, sponsoring, or fundraising for any church or religious institution, including fundraising for a church that contributes to, or operates, a food pantry,” the Journal Scene reports.

In other words, Reagle doesn’t believe the district violated the law, but officials put the kibosh on the food pantry donations just to be safe. Reagle wrote in his response letter that the $100 students raised will be distributed to needy students at the high school, instead.

An AHA press release applauded the district “for halting religious fundraising,” according to media reports.

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The whole incident infuriated many who read the news online.

“Bravo! Victory! You made canned food just sit at a school that could have went to families!” April Leigh Brown Athon posted to Facebook. “You should all be so proud!”

“This is ridiculous,” The Bryan Crabtree Show posted. “This is not about separating church and state – it’s about attacking religion. No one was forced to participate in this if it violated their beliefs.”

Chris Darling questioned how “collecting for a food pantry that helps those in need violates the Establishment Clause?

“At what point does giving food the food pantry expose the kids or the school to any religious teaching that the AHA is so terrified of? They claim to want a free thinking society, but don’t dare give someone the opportunity to choose to follow God of their own free will,” he wrote. “Good grief.”

Kim Smith doesn’t believe the school district should have cowered because of the legal threat.

“Ironic that their group is titled ‘humanist’ and they are against donating food to a food pantry,” she posted. “I’ve seen a lot of church run food pantries and they do amazing work in a lot of communities. I have yet to run across an atheist group that does anything but file lawsuits. Shame on you DD2 for backing down!”

The American Humanist Association’s other good works include a fight to kill a Texas nativity scene, threats to sue over a Veterans Day prayer in Louisiana, and legal action over a football team prayer in Georgia, among many others.