Atherton’s student-led food drive concluded this past Friday, to encouraging results. Last week, Science National Honor Society (SNHS), HOSA, Environmental Club, Rho Kappa, and the boys basketball team banded together to host a food drive in light of the loss of SNAP benefits for millions on inspiring this group effort.
Coach Tudor is the boys Basketball Coach and one of the adult sponsors of the students’ effort.
“We got an email from a lady that said they need help with the local pantries,” Coach Tudor said. “We’re just trying to do our part in the community to help out.”
Mahdi Bevab (12) is the president of SNHS.
“Mrs. New had the idea and emailed the other club officers and I about getting together and creating a food drive, so we met one day after school and planned how and where we will collect donations, how to spread the word, and certain roles,” Bevab said. “SNHS officers placed flyers around the school about the food drive and what items to bring, created the donation boxes, contacted AOA, and made the Instagram post which was spread around.”
These teams asked for canned goods and foods with sustainable shelf lives, such as canned soup, pasta, tuna, instant potatoes, rice, peanut butter, instant oatmeal, and shelf stable milk. One donation box was placed in the center hall near the metal detectors and another at the exit in the cafeteria hall.
Audrey Hagan (12) is a SNHS member and Rho Kappa Officer.
“For Rho Kappa, we kind of facilitated the drive for our club at least, so we’re running it. We helped make posters for it, and then we’ve got a box set out of Mr. Smith’s room, just recruiting for it,” Hagan said.
Students spread the word, as Rho Kappa members met after school to create posters promoting the drive after school while the Environmental Club and boys Basketball kept the organizers up to speed via notifications through their Google Classroom and social media accounts.
The result was an outpouring of support. This clearly left a big impact, not only on the people those meals went to, but on the students who were able to take part in organizing this endeavor.
“We had a lot of boxes overflowing with cans and food that had to be donated to make room for more, which was our goal!” Bevab said.
The donations went to the Burnett Head Start, a program for preschoolers, infants, and toddlers in the area surrounding Louisville and Jefferson County.
“I think everybody deserves to have meals, to have food in their life,” Hagan said.
For the 1 in 5 children who rely on the SNAP program, the bipartisan agreement signed by the president as of Monday offers some hope for an end to
the shutdown and a restoration of SNAP benefits, hopefully easing some of the uncertainty for these families in need.
“You gotta help everybody out. Everybody goes through rough times, and if you have a little extra, you can help people out. That’s how it should be,” Coach Tudor said. “I get a lot from it.”
