With families still recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 and facing new struggles navigating inflation, high school students in Penticton are teaming up to collect food donations across the city ahead of the holidays.
The 10,000 Tonight Food Drive, a campaign led by students at Penticton Secondary and Princess Margaret, returns Thursday, Nov. 24, with the goal of collecting 10,000 non-perishable food items.
School leaders will go from home to home on Thursday, picking up items at the driveways and doorways to help sustain the “critical” need of the local food bank.
Food items can also be dropped off at both high schools.
Over the last week, students have been dropping off flyers at homes across Penticton in preparation for the event. It continues the holiday giveback tradition for students in the city, who have teamed up annually to reach their goal of collecting 10,000 items for the community’s most vulnerable.
Leadership teachers at both schools say they will also be working with local businesses to use their locations as drop-off sites, particularly grocery stores.
Amid low supply, the Salvation Army in Penticton has said its current need for food bank donations is “critical.” It’s something both schools have acknowledged ahead of their holiday campaign.
The 10,000 Tonight Food Drive is one of two holiday-giveback events with the other being Toys for Tots to Teens on Dec. 8.
Students at Penticton Secondary have set the goal of collecting 1,000 new and unwrapped toys or gifts and collecting $20,000 in cash donations.
“The two events have a long-standing reputation of being major staples that help our community,” said Jolene Broccolo, a leadership teacher at Pen High.
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