On Wednesday, November 19, The East Islip High School National Honor Society will be assisting several food pantry organizations in the annual districtwide food drive event. The food drive is one of the largest local charity events of the year, and the National Honor Society invites all to pitch in and donate for charity.
National Honor Society members will collect all donations and load them onto the trucks which will then distribute it to where it’s needed. If you’re thinking about making a donation, gather up any and all canned or nonperishable food donations and leave them at your driveway. They will be picked up between 5PM to 7PM. If you do not place your donation at the end of your driveway during the required window of time, your donation will not be collected.
The food drive is a massive event that spans the entire East Islip School District, and it’s carried out mainly by students. The district is divided into many different zones. A group of students is assigned to each with the responsibility of placing a flyer on every door (close to 10,000 are printed to serve this purpose) in the lead-up to the event, then doing multiple sweeps of said zone to collect every donation placed within the given time frame.
The National Honor Society handles most of the zones, but some of them are also distributed to other clubs and groups, such as the World Language Honor Society, SADD, Key Club, and others.
“It’s to feed the community,” Said National Society Advisor Mrs. Ingram. “To provide whatever we can for those of us in our community who need assistance.”
Some charities that accept and distribute the food include St. Mary’s Food Pantry, St. Peter’s Food Pantry, Mercy Haven, Helping Hands, and potentially others.
“I feel amazing right now,” East Islip High School Senior and food drive group leader Aadil Ali said. “Our zone is one of the larger ones so I think we’re going to get a lot of food. We have a plan and a car and hopefully we get tons of food to help out the food banks.”
According to Mrs. Ingram, the event ends up “stocking and filling all the food pantries. Thousands and thousands of pounds [of food].”
If you want to make your mark on someone’s life and contribute to a good cause, consider donating to the annual food drive on Wednesday, November 19.
