Shaler Area high school participated in the annual food drive to collect and send donations to The Bread of Life Food Pantry in Etna. In order to give back to the community, Shaler Area helps those in need who are not as fortunate as others. The total goal was 1,257 items, one item for every student in the building, and with the help of many of the students and staff, the school was able to achieve this goal.

Mrs. Mindy Thiel, SAHS activities director, kept track of the food being brought in as well as the winning 9th period classes. Her encouragement to the students on the announcements at the end of the day to bring in items was no doubt a push to meet the goal. Mrs.Thiel believes that it is important to give back to the community every year.

“The community supports us, they support our school, they support our students, so this is just a really small token by everyone bringing in one item…it’s a way to give back to the community to show we care about them just as much as they care about us,” Thiel said.

This food drive is more important than some may think. There are people that are in need of help and some of them may even be students in the building.

The incentive that comes with participating in the food drive within the school is a competition between 9th period classes. The class that brings in the most goods receives a prize. With a reward in place, this encourages students to bring in as many items as they can.

“Normally we would do a pizza party…I’m going to do salty and sweet…each class will get cupcakes and a variety of chips,” Thiel said.

The first place 9th period class was Mr. Mitchell’s, with an average of eleven items per person donated. Just coming short of that, Mr. Tim Taylor’s class received second place, also with an average of about eleven items per person. Mr. Mason’s class came in third place, and Mr. Ward’s class ended in fourth. Appreciation should be shown to these classes for going above and beyond to support those who truly need it.

There are people within our community that need our help, especially considering how the past year and a half played out. Due to COVID-19, families have struggled, and may still be struggling, to put food on their table for their families. Therefore, it is essential that The Bread of Life Food Pantry can be prepared to provide for this select group of people.

“Every year we see such a great demand from our community, families that are struggling since COVID-19 hit in 2020, we’ve seen an even greater need so when the Bread of Life Food Pantry reaches out they say…’we are seeing record come through our doors, if you guys can do your food drive again’…we will always do it, so they truly appreciate it and were thrilled when I said we are doing it.” Thiel said.