Carlmont’s Associated Student Body (ASB) is preparing for its annual food drive to help lower-income families this holiday season.
This event has become a tradition at Carlmont, with ASB members working hard for about a month to collect food donations, reach out to local donors, and promote the drive throughout the school and community.
“Community Service Commission helps organize and advertise it, and then, in the end, all of ASB helps out to organize the food we collect,” said Jasper Patel, a sophomore at Carlmont.
The food drive takes place every November, and ASB is responsible for organizing the event. ASB members in the community service committee work on getting donations by creating flyers and using social media to encourage others to donate non-perishable food items.
“There’s a lot of planning and thought behind it as we’re always trying to improve, and a lot of organization is needed to have things run smoothly. Trying to get people involved and wanting to donate is somewhat of a challenge, but the students, teachers, and parents of Carlmont always come through and support the event, which means so much to us,” said Ethan Lee, a sophomore at Carlmont.
The purpose of the food drive is to collect as much food as possible so that struggling families can have a meal during the holidays without worrying about their daily necessities.
Vania Pala, a part of the community service committee and a junior at Carlmont, is very dedicated to the food drive and its purpose.
“We want these families to be able to have those meaningful holiday memories without being stressed about putting food on the table. Our goal is to get as much participation as possible, which is important for our community,” Pala said.
This food drive started almost ten years ago and has become essential to Carlmont’s school culture. It brings ASB members, counselors, teachers, students, and local residents together.
New students join ASB each year and choose to contribute to the Food Drive initiative.
“The food drive was one of those events, and I thought I could help since I had previous experience with food drives through Boy Scouts,” said Lee. “I also wanted to support and give back to something larger than myself, where the Carlmont community could come together and do great things.”
As the holiday season comes by each year, Carlmont’s food drive reflects the community’s strength and generosity, coming together to help families in need.
