In the past week, students heaved their ten pound bags of rice and assorted cans of nutritious foods to their sixth period classrooms. This annual tradition has earned PHS the number one supplier to the Alameda County Food Bank.
However, the annual food drive has been ex
tended until Friday the 21st. As of March 13th, students have donated, 2,868 pounds of food , about 8,132 pounds short of the 11,000 pounds donated last year.
The annual food drive is an opportunity for students to donate nonperishable food with all the donations going to the Alameda County Food Bank. This year, ASB is placing a larger emphasis on a variety of foods.
“The foods most beneficial for students to bring are not only huge sacks of rice, but canned fruits, vegetables, and proteins. We are asking the student body to strive for low sodium and low sugar food donations, maximizing the nutritional value of the food we bring in,” sophomore class president Tyler Ellis said.
Similar to years in the past, the food drive is set up as a competition between each 6th period class to see who can donate the most food. As of March 13th, math teacher Bill Marthinsen’s class has donated 1,588 pounds.
“The winning class gets their choice of either a pizza party or an ice cream party”, said head of the food drive committee sophomore Laine Ratzer.
Students who have a free sixth period can bring their food to Mr. Brown’s classroom, room 39.
To put Piedmont High’s impact into perspective, the amount of donations for the Alameda County Food Bank is just below the major supermarket donations, Ellis said.
Ellis said Piedmont High’s donations have been truly successful in the past, and ASB believes that PHS can make them even more successful this year.
“One of the biggest goals of the food drive this year is to have a lot of pounds [of food] with the balance of each of the food groups”, Freshman Alisha Lewis said.
The Alameda County Food Banks mission is to supply nutritious food to the low-income residents of the Bay Area according to alamedafoodbank.org.
“33% of Alameda County residents struggle with hunger. It’s awesome that we can help out.” Ellis said.
