ASB president Hani Nakkour, senior class president Aarthi Yogendran, and other members of ASB have been hard at work collecting nonperishable foods and money for the annual MTHS food drive from Monday, November 14 through Friday, December 9, 2016. All the proceeds go to Concern for Neighbors Food Bank in Mountlake Terrace.
Clubs were given the opportunity to collect cans and cash by standing outside nearby grocery stores, such as QFC and Trader Joe’s. Then the clubs signed up for a day to help. Another way ASB received donations was having the school community bring in food into the HUB in the different class collection boxes. Then, Yogendran and other volunteers would count and box the donations.
The donations received will be delivered to Concern for Neighbors Food Bank and used for various purposes for the 100 to 115 families that are served per week at the Food Bank. Executive director of Concerns for Neighbors Food Bank Anne C. Peterson has been involved with the annual food drive for the past 13 years.
“We do have to purchase staple items (canned soup, canned green beans, canned corn and Top Ramen) during the year as what is donated does not last. Also the money that we receive from food drives is also used to pay the bills. We are like any household as we have insurance, water, electricity, fuel and maintenance on our vehicles and maintenance on our cooler/freezer and building,” said Anne C. Peterson.
In past years, the amount of donations fluctuated. Peterson believes “with the economy getting better, people have gone back to work and don’t need to use the food bank anymore.” However, the donations received from food drives are still important.
“The food drive is important,” Nakkour said. “Not only does it help people that need it in our school because there are a lot of people that go to Concern for Neighbors Food Bank, but also it helps the greater community of our Mountlake Terrace, and also it creates this huge unity experience between all the people at our school.”
There are two competitions held during the food drive. One is an annual competition between Lynnwood High School, or Pursuit of the Power Plunger. In past years, the winner of this competition hasn’t been stable. The other competition is a school-wide competition between the classes.
For the school-wide competition, donations were received from food or money. $1 would equal to, or be counted as, two cans. The freshmen lost and ended with a grand total of 1973 cans, sophomores with 3096 cans, juniors with 3210, and the seniors won with 3988 cans.
Overall, the school contributed 12289 cans, weighing over 6,500 pounds, and won against Lynnwood.
