With the holiday season fast approaching, the Kennett High School Humanitarian Club has kicked off its annual food drive to benefit the Kennett Area Community Services (KACS) Food Cupboard. Food drive chairpersons Delaney Marin-Tapia and Jerry Avalos, both seniors, have created various opportunities for community members to contribute to the effort.
The food drive began on October 14, and KHS students can bring their non-perishable donations to their advisory teacher any time before November 15. In the first week of the drive, Kennett students have already generously donated over 180 pounds of food.
Also, the club hosted its yearly Fall Fest on Friday, October 18, in front of the high school. This event, open only to students, featured s’mores, games, face painting, and, of course, a bonfire supervised by members of the Kennett Fire Company. The price of admission was five cans, and at the end of the evening, nearly 500 cans and over $400 were collected for the Food Cupboard.
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the last home football game of the season, the Humanitarian Club will be hosting “Cans for Pat” to honor the memory of Patrick Mallon, Kennett High School Class of 2010. Pat, who played on both the offensive and defensive lines on the KHS football team, organized various food drives through the National Honor Society during his time at Kennett. He was a passionate advocate for social justice and believed that no person should ever go hungry. Donations including canned goods such as vegetables, fruit, beans, soups, jelly, and peanut butter, plus non-perishable items like pasta, rice, cereal, and even diapers and wipes will be gratefully accepted at the stadium gates.
Although the Humanitarian Club is always devoted to wiping out food insecurity, there is a greater sense of urgency to their mission this year due to the recent fire at the Food Cupboard. For that reason, Jake Adelman, a Humanitarian Club and National Honor Society member, is organizing an additional opportunity: NHS members will trick-or-treat for canned goods on Halloween night to give more people the chance to participate in the fight against hunger.
“The Kennett community always takes care of its own,” said Lisa Teixeira, Humanitarian Club advisor and school librarian.
For more information on the Kennett High School Humanitarian Club Food Drive and how you can help, please contact Lisa Teixeira at lteixeira@kcsd.org