The principal of an Alabama middle school believes that stockpiling canned goods in classrooms will give students a last line of defense against possible school shooters or other intruders.

According to the Associated Press, Priscella Holley, principal at W. F. Burns Middle School in Valley, Alabama, sent out a letter to parents on Friday explaining that children can fling the cans of peas, corn and Irish potatoes at individuals who would do them harm.

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Holley asked that parents arm their children with eight ounce cans of their choice of foodstuffs, so that the students might “stun the intruder or even knock him out until the police arrive.”

“The canned food item will give the students a sense of empowerment to protect themselves and will make them feel secure,” she said.

Chambers County Schools Superintendent Dr. Kelli Hodge told WHNT News that the canned goods are just a part of a training program aimed at empowering students in case of a violent intruder.

“I can honestly say that the major point of the training,” Hodge said, “is to be able to get kids evacuated and not be sitting ducks hiding under desks.”