Every fall marks the kickoff to the annual Student Hunger Drive (SHD), an event that PV has been actively involved in for many years.
SHD combats food insecurity in the area by encouraging students to donate non-perishable food items to be sent to the Riverbend Food Bank.
PV is typically one of the highest donating schools in the area, but the start to this year’s SHD showed signs of proving otherwise.
In the first two weeks of SHD, food donations were very sparse. Teachers’ boxes left in classrooms were empty, class donation counts on teacher’s whiteboards were at zero and the big pallets in the main hallway were bare.
It was almost as if SHD was not even happening at all.
For a school that has been heavily involved in SHD for many years, it came as a surprise to PV staff and students when donations were abysmally lower than in years past.
Spartan Assembly executive member Will Fairman attributed the few donations to poor advertising. “Typically, every year we have a hunger drive assembly to create hype surrounding the six-week long event,” stated Fairman. “However, due to COVID-19 we were only able to plug the hunger drive for 60 seconds at the last assembly. This most definitely hurt our support and advertising for the drive.”
Advertising is one of the driving forces of the SHD. Without big assemblies or school-wide events, students often do not feel compelled to donate.
Despite the support from school-wide events or teacher-driven incentives, Spartan Assembly was able to bring donations up to speed through its own efforts outside of school.
“Spartan Assembly has worked tirelessly through grocery shifts, school donations, and collecting donations from local businesses,” stated Spartan Assembly teacher coordinator Zachary Miller.
Outside of school events such as these, in addition to trick-or-treating for cans and Fill the Truck, have caused donations to skyrocket in the right direction. PV is back on track to reaching a donation goal of 73,000 pounds.
As donations begin to increase for SHD, it is important for students to realize the impact their donations have on their community.
“We participate in the SHD as a way to help our local community…Since the pandemic began, many more families in our district and community have turned to the foodbank for food as many have experienced life-changing events,” stated Miller.
Donations are more important than ever because of the effects COVID-19 has had on families. As SHD comes to a close, it is important to keep this thought in mind. People can donate through the school, at their local grocery stores and through this online link.
Despite the start to this year’s SHD being slower than anticipated, PV has brought donations up to speed. With two weeks remaining for the event, students are excited to finish SHD strong.
Rachel • Nov 10, 2021 at 10:07 am
I think the student Hunger Drive is so important… when we lost to Bettendorf I was honestly very surprised, and I’m glad we have stepped up our game since then.
Kennedy Brady • Nov 5, 2021 at 8:53 pm
I thought it was really weird walking the halls seeing the the palettes empty. Normally PV is always really good about starting strong and finishing stronger but this year it didn’t seem like that was going to happen. However I think we’re going to start weak and finish strong.
Vrinda V. • Nov 5, 2021 at 12:11 pm
It’s great that PV was able to raise so much to help the Student Hunger Drive. Even though we didn’t have the typical assembly that promoted SHD, the students were able to raise many cans and money to support a great cause.
Makayla • Nov 4, 2021 at 11:23 am
This article is very well written. I will be honest when I first came to this school the first thing I saw was the SHD awards. At my old school we did the SHD but the most we ever made, was maybe 100 pounds. So I was expecting it to be crazy. The first week I didn’t even know it was going on. Then I start seeing people at Hyvee trying to get donations. The next week I started seeing lots of boxes full in multiple classrooms. 73,000 pounds of cans, that is impressive.
Jocelyn Brown • Nov 4, 2021 at 11:09 am
I like the flow of this article and showing how we were starting off not too good and how we are finishing strong with donations. I think as a school and as a community, our donations will help a lot of people and the weight of how many cans we all have donated is outstanding!
Jack • Nov 3, 2021 at 6:44 pm
It is good to hear that the SHD is now going at full force. When we first lost to bettendorf during the SHD kickoff I knew we were going to need to step up our game.
Jahni Harn • Nov 2, 2021 at 11:12 am
This is a well written article that is showing the concerns of many Pleasant Valley student and teacher about the lack of donations to the student hunger drive this year. The Student Hunger Drive is a great cause that I believe everyone should contribute to, especially in times such as Covid-19 where people in shelters need food more than ever. Our donations can help to provide food for people in these difficult times.