In late February and early March, the food drive took over almost every classroom in the school. Students rolled large plastic bins overflowing with cans from classroom to classroom twice a week, collecting food donations. A large paper meter hung prominently on the wall to display leading classes and point totals for the annual food drive.
“I think the brilliancy of the food drive is that it brings the entire school together towards a cause,” senior class president and food drive chair Aaron Rudman said. “The reason the food drive is so special is that unlike selling ribbons you directly see the effects. There is no better feeling than walking by the glass office and seeing the buckets of cans knowing that you contributed and have made the first step in lightening the burden of a family in need.”
Each year, Student Council organizes the food drive. Each day has a theme, from Meat Day to Red, Black and White Day. Point values are assigned to the different types of food to determine a leading class.
“There is the food drive committee that met in the mornings and did the basic planning such as daily themes and prizes. Then there was the STUCO independent study which put the finishing touches on everything such as tallying up the cans, making the can-o-meter and things of that nature,” Rudman said.
The effort doesn’t only stem from the hard work of STUCO, but also from students and teachers across the school. This year’s winner was the Academic Lab class of French teacher Lori Turnage with journalism teacher Tara Stepanek’s lab in second.
“Although the food drive was through Ac Lab, I wanted as many student to take part as possible. I thought I’d have French students contribute to the pot, so to speak,” Turnage said.
Turnage, like several other teachers, offered incentives such as parties and extra credit for students who participated in the drive. Though some other disagreed with her method, Turnage does not see a problem with it.
“The bottom line is, we brought in a lot of cans,” Turnage said.
Freshman Andrea Williamson, in Stepanek’s class, brought in containers full of cans for the food drive.
“My dad is in the army so he has access to food pantries where he can get a bunch of cans,” Williamson said. “[The food drive is important because] other people who don’t have what we have can still eat.”
Some, like Williamson, were active because of availability. Others, like Turnage, have more personal ties to the matter. Turnage has an uncle in Colorado who has relied on food banks and the Salvation Army in the past.
“Especially in this economy, food prices go up and a lot more families have to use food banks to feed their children and themselves. For those of us that are able to eat, and have a roof over our heads, and have a little extra, it’s important to look after those who are struggling,” Turnage said.
