A common community service task for high schoolers to give back to the world around them consists of the food drive. Many people are not acknowledging the struggle the pandemic has not only brought to people having finances to purchase food, but getting people to participate in the drive. This has arisen a drastic issue for many, not collecting enough food for people results in those who relied on the organization weekly to have nowhere to resort to. From the online source, feedingamerica.org, they stated “Because of the pandemic, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the amount of people visiting food banks. In fact, in the early days of the pandemic, 4 in 10 people visiting food banks were there for the first time.” The constant uncertainty of how much of the grocery list will be able to be brought home weekly, the status of their job, and the status of their healthcare is pushing people to reach out to food banks for aid. Any citizen could find themselves needing assistance at any time, so it is important to give back when times are so crucial.

As a way to be involved in the impact of resolving the struggle, the Greater Latrobe School District is hosting a food drive for students to donate. The list is endless, consisting of canned food like chicken, tuna, fruit, vegetables, cereal, peanut butter. The drive has some restrictions, including any donation in glass bottles or jars, which will not be accepted incase of breaking during the shipment process. Even if students can’t go to the grocery store to participate, the drive encourages them to bring in anything that they don’t use sitting in their cabinets. The food drive is run by Reese Petrosky and the mathletes who are dedicated students reaching out and making a difference in the world. The food drive donations will go directly to Westmoreland Community food bank, which serves the Latrobe community. You could even be helping a friend who you didn’t really know needed it.  

 This is the first year for the food drive and certainly won’t be the last. “We are always so happy and grateful for the turnout because we are able to help so many families in our community”- Reese exclaims! The food drive runs until April 26th so everyone has enough time to donate all that they can for families who could really use it. Where you can drop items off are to your set 2 teacher or in the upper C hallway or lower S.  The benefits of this food drive was to be able to help the community with something they are struggling with and let them know that there are people there for them willing to help and donate food.   Too add a little competition to drive and motivate even more people, they are having it as a competition to see who gets the most food for each set 2 class. Directly after they see who collected the most, the winner will get a reward  breakfast from Dunkin Donuts as a thank you for donating and helping the community. 

Sometimes it can be tricky with what you can and can’t donate. What you can donate are canned meals like chicken, tuna, fruit, vegetables, cereal, peanut butter. Any donation in glass bottles, jars, will not be accepted to take incase of breaking due to shipment purposes. This food drive is an excellent way to really make someone else’s day and make a change in the world. We never really know many stories about other people if they are struggling or aren’t. You don’t even have to donate a lot but a little will go a long way for a family in need. Reach out and help the people who need it the most.