Both the OHS Food Club and National German Honor Society are doing a food drive … at the same time.
The annual German Honor Society food pantry and Humane Society drive is taking place From Nov. 9 through Nov. 20. Students can bring canned foods for the food pantry, and items such as dog and cat food, paper towels, dawn, bleach and detergent for the Humane Society.
German teacher Stephanie Beam is giving her students the incentive of a drop quiz grade in exchange for donations, and she has encouraged other teachers to do the same. So far, about five teachers have agreed to do so.
“If they don’t give any incentives, it’s been really hard in the past to collect stuff,” Beam said.
Although German Honor Society is not a service-based club, they must do a service project each year to remain qualified as an active National German Honor Society club.
German Honor Society students have been given the task of giving teachers boxes, taking full boxes back to the German classroom, and publicizing the drive.
According to Beam, her goal is “to help others” and for the students to “work together” by collecting items.
The Food Club drive for the food pantry began on Nov. 10 and will run until Nov. 16.
According to Food Club sponsor Shaundi Wall, the goal of the drive is to continue the goals of “Love Your People,” the motto of the OHS faculty and student body this year.
“Loving Your People means all people, not just the ones that walk these halls every day,” Wall said.
According to Wall, this new community service extension to the club is a great way to “ensure that everybody in this community feels loved, is well-fed, and has the ability to sit down and enjoy a meal.”
Students can bring canned foods – such as soup cans, vegetables, tomato sauce, corn, beans and peanut butter – to Wall’s classroom before and after school, and in-between classes.
Although community service has not been a part of Food Club before, Wall feels that it is important to help people in the community, especially now that the club is more established.
“Once you get your feet under you, it’s only fair that you help others do the same,” Wall said.
Junior Anna Tackerer, Food Club president, feels that it is “important to give back to your community.” Tackerer has spoken to the pantry and organized to have the food delivered there.
One thing that the Food Club has been focusing on this year is food justice, which is “giving everybody equal opportunity and access to food,” according to Wall.
Although the food that the club is donating for the pantry is not the type of food that they normally promote in their club (which is healthy, local, sustainable foods), Wall believes that these things aren’t always important when someone is hardly able to have a meal at all.
“If somebody isn’t getting fed at all, healthy, local, sustainable doesn’t mean anything to them,” Wall said.
Wall hopes that this isn’t the last time for the Food Club to do a canned food drive.
“Hopefully the canned food drive will become an annual tradition,” Wall said.
