It’s that time of year again: Halloween celebrations, college applications, and the six short weeks of the annual Student Hunger Drive. For many students, the Hunger Drive represents cringe-worthy assemblies, artificial competitions between classes and schools, and generous incentives offered by teachers to drive donations. These concepts are all the Hunger Drive is to students: a superficial, extrinsically-motivated struggle to win a vague competition that they don’t truly understand or care about. To the vast majority, hunger isn’t an exigent issue but an abstract concept, spoken about but never seen.
One in every five students in the counties served by the River Bend Food Bank misses meals that they should be receiving. This number doesn’t resonate with students as much as it should. Instead, to truly see the issue, look at the two people to the immediate left, and at the two on the immediate right, and realize that one of these people is going hungry. Events like the Mobile Food Pantry paint the true picture of hunger in this community: that it is tangible, visible, and present. Senior Emma Horsfield states, “The Mobile Food Pantry really encouraged me to donate more. It showed me who our efforts were going towards.”
At the Pantry, students were able to see just how much their efforts meant to their community. They saw the grateful smiles on the faces of recipients, while also learning about the dire situations that caused these people to need food. Although the Hunger Drive as students know it consists of friendly competitions and prizes, the key to unlocking its true meaning lies in understanding the issue it is trying to solve. Student Hunger Drive Ambassador Ryan Longenecker states, “It’s a really important cause to fight for”, showing that the Hunger Drive transcends class or even school rivalries. And so, over the next 5 weeks, it is important to keep the hungry families in mind when donating, not the incentives and the glory.