The Salem Community High School canned food drive has brought in 19,767 cans of food for the Salem Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry.
The final number was tabulated as home room classes brought their collections to the small gym Monday morning.
The first-place winners were the combined home rooms of Dylan Courty and Matt Donoho. They collected 3,302 cans, beating out the combined homeroom classes of Megan Molenhour and Amy Telford, who finished with 3,132 cans.
Donoho is also sponsor of the Student Council that puts together the event each year.
“It’s not just a matter of going out and getting money or getting cans,” Donoho said. “It’s going and buying those cans, transporting those cans. We had kids helping load, unwrap, and stack stuff today. This is truly a schoolwide effort where every student is involved… this is one of the things that I love being a part of, and I love seeing the school come together and make this happen.”
Courty is a first-year teacher and from Carmi who was participating in the event for the first year.
“I think it’s awesome,” Courty said. “Not only this, but they do so many things for the community, and the fact that they come together as a school and as a community to replenish food cans and donations for everybody around… It’s just so amazing, the community that we’re in.”
One of the student leaders of the drive was senior Riley Vincent.
“We went out the very first day of the food drive when it started, canvassed businesses, and asked for donations,” Vincent said. “We have a great community here in Salem that will come together and do what they can to help support. Especially for the canned food drive, that’s a big focal point.”
Vincent worked with Loren Burge who said the effort to get all the canned goods purchased before Monday required six trips to Walmart and some very helpful staff members who helped get the canned goods to their cars.
After being loaded into a donated Meador Brother’s Express truck, the canned goods were delivered to the Salem Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry at the Salem Community Activity Center.
Carol Ann Short, who leads the Food Pantry says the surge of canned goods comes just in time before Thursday’s Thanksgiving distribution.
“Right now, we’re expecting 175 to 200 families to come through for Thanksgiving. Without these canned goods we really wouldn’t have enough, so this is going to help tremendously.”
Short says in addition to the normal food items, those attending this food distribution will receive a certificate for a turkey from Farm Fresh Market.
Food collected in the gymnasium.
Students unload a truck full of food.
