By: Taylor Napolitan

     The holiday season is arriving quickly, and Eisenhower’s annual Food Drive is here. The food drive occurs every year from December 1–15. The Squire interviewed National Honor Society President, Bailey Lundmark, for an inside view at the collection. Bailey officially went into office for the National Honor Society this September, after being elected by his fellow honor society peers. He has played a major role in this year’s food drive, along with the club as a whole. The club, however, has not been working alone. Lundmark states, “We also had help from the Key Club, especially the President Taylor Napolitan, and the Student Council members.”

     Working collaboratively, the club advisors, Mr. Leonhardt, Key Club advisor, Mrs. Slattery, Student Council’s advisor, and Ms. Livingston, are stepping up to fill National Honor Society advisor Mrs. Dietsch’s position while she is out on medical absence. Mr. Leonhardt introduced this Christmassy idea to the clubs, and they instantly agreed on this festive way of doing the drive. The clubs collectively decided on the idea and added a cut out Christmas tree image to the doors of all the teachers. The goal for the drive is to fill your tree with all the different colored ornaments representing the different food items asked to be donated. The classes who get all their colored ornaments will receive a yellow star for their tree, this being the indicator of a win. The prize for the winners, Lundmark shared, will be a free fun day in the winning classes the day before Christmas break. In the past, Lundmark shares that they used to try and block the open window by the doors with the food they collected, but despite the change in how food is tracked, the reward has stayed the same.

     The items being donated are being separated by a point system. Colors like red, yellow, blue, orange, purple, and white are being used to separate the donations. Classes will receive a red ornament for collecting three boxes of stuffing, a yellow ornament once they have collected five cans, a blue ornament for collecting three boxes of mashed potatoes and three packets of gravy mix. Additionally, three dessert items will give the class an orange ornament, with five dinner items classes earning students a purple ornament, and, finally, any hygiene or alternative food items will be counted towards a white ornament. Once you receive all your ornament colors, you will receive a yellow star and a free day in that class period! We are aiming to collect food for at least twelve families and need all the help we can get.

     These donations have been collected throughout the month of December, with the final collection day being December 15. Lundmark explained, “It is a necessity for people to donate food if they can so people who wouldn’t be able to afford food for Christmas will have food for the holidays.” The food that is donated will be given to families in need around the area. These families will be able to share delicious meals this year thanks to our donors. Every bit helps, and the families appreciate the help they can get during this holiday season. The Squire, National Honor Society, Key Club, and Student Council thank you all for your donations and wish you ‘Happy Holiday’s!’