The Key Club at Puyallup High School helped feed fellow students through the food drive Nov. 11-15.
Key Club adviser and English teacher, Jordan Cockle, talks about how Key Club got involved with the food drive.
“Jason Kim is our treasurer; he came to us about a month ago and he was telling me, because he’s in HOSA too, that they were is desperate need because Covid-19 kind of wiped everything out of the food pantry and they didn’t have anything in stock,” Cockle said. “And he came to us and [said], ‘Hey, I think this would be a good service project for us.’ And we said, okay, let’s make it happen.”
Senior Claire Maher is the Key Club vice president and says that Key Club faced some struggles getting the drive set up.
“At first it was very confusing because we were just trying to figure out how we’re actually going to get the whole school involved and how were going to be able to count everything and section everything off… it was a struggle a little bit, but we have a good flow of it now,” Maher said.
Maher said it’s important to donate because it doesn’t just help random people, it helps students here at PHS. Maher also talked about how the sorting and collecting process worked.
“Usually, the officers stay behind and count, and then we have sectioned off into three groups: second and third floors is one group, first floor and CTE is the second group, and then the third group is library, portables, and gym… They collect everything, bring it back and then we fill out everything on a piece of paper,” Maher said.
Senior Kira Mettler is the Food Pantry coordinator. Mettler says PHS is special because it is one of the only high schools that have something like this.
“Ten percent of Washington residents face some sort of food insecurity every single day and that’s a really big statistic if you think about it. So, ten out of every 100 people face food insecurity… 200 kids at our school face food insecurity. That’s why it’s so important because people can’t function if they don’t eat, so getting them the necessary food is really, really, important,” Mettler said.
The Food Pantry is a place where donated food is stored for students who need it.
“We were empty… and half the stuff was expired… but now, we’re amazing and I can give out boxes. We can give out boxes for all families in need. So, having the food drive was great,” Mettler said.
Key Club’s is also helping the Food Pantry prepare for the holidays.
“Right now, we’re focused on creating holiday food boxes. Around the holidays we like to try to create meals that we can give to families in need… we are distributing them towards thanksgiving and Christmas time,” Cockle said.
