Key Club and Bexley Refugee and Immigrant Service Club held a canned food drive Nov. 27 through Dec. 15 to support Community Refugee and Immigrant Services, which will distribute the resources to Columbus families in need.
Sophomore and Key Club volunteer coordinator Allison Lefkowitz said each first period competed for a prize of Krispy Kreme donuts by seeing which class could collect the most nonperishable foods by Dec. 15.
Junior and BRISC member Jacob Bednar said the club is working with CRIS, an independent nonprofit that helps refugees get food and shelter around Columbus, to distribute the collected food to people who need it most.
Social studies teacher and BRISC adviser Scott King-Owen said CRIS provided a list of culturally sensitive foods for clubs to distribute to students so that donations cater to cuisines that refugees and immigrants are familiar with.
“It is really nice to get a gift that speaks to your culture instead of giving them food that they have never had,” King-Owen said.
He added Key Club and BRISC worked together to maximize the effectiveness of the drive.
“Our leaders have looked to Key Club leadership to talk about how we can coordinate our efforts,” King-Owen said. “They could spread awareness, and we can share the burden of collecting.”
Consumer sciences teacher and Key Club adviser Marybeth Motasem said the clubs hope to surpass 2,000 items of nonperishable food.
Last year, Key Club organized a warm clothing drive where they more than doubled their goal of 500 donations, she said.
Motasem added she has similar hopes of doubling her goal of 2,000 items of food.
Motasem said she is very passionate about alleviating food insecurities for all.
“We have just had some record-high inflation over the past year where income hasn’t kept pace with food inflation,” she explained. “It has created some very challenging decisions for a lot of families to make whether or not to pay their rent, car payments or put food on the table.”
Motasem said she hopes this drive will not only relieve some stress for individuals and families who are struggling with food insecurity, but also spread awareness on such a critical issue.
“When it comes to hunger, it never takes a holiday,” Motasem said. “To me, food is a human right. No one should go hungry.”
