Friday, April 06, 2007
Food drives feed Harvest Pantry
Every week, Second Harvest Japan’s Harvest Pantry feeds close to 100 individuals, including 47 children. The majority of critically needed non-perishable foods come to us through food drives held by schools, businesses, and associations. With over 650,000 people in Japan lacking food security, food drives—no matter how big or how small—play an important role in helping to alleviate hunger.
Mark Valens, an English teacher at the Tokyo Korean School, helped to organize a food drive with his students, grades one through six. Approximately 450 students participated in the five-day drive. To motivate and build enthusiasm, the teachers put forth a challenge. If the students collected over 500 items, the teachers would sing a Japanese song in front of the student body. If the school fell short of the target, the sixth grade students would have to sing an English song on stage.
In the end, the students collected over 1,100 items and “everyone involved with the food drive agreed that it was a great success,” said Valens. “Donating food showed students how they could make a difference in people’s lives as well as educated them about the fact that many people go to bed hungry each night, even in a wealthy developed country.” Most of the teachers also spoke about the need some have for food and why they felt it was important to help others.
Many food drives are organized around World Food Day (October 16), which was established in 1979 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to increase international awareness of the issues behind hunger and poverty around the world. World Food Day is an excellent occasion to run a food drive for 2HJ and help spread awareness about hunger in Japan.
But since hunger is a year-round problem, there’s no need to wait until autumn to plan a food drive. See below for some pointers for organizing a food drive and contact 2HJ today to get started!
Be sure to contact Harvest Pantry Coordinator Michelle Ryan before you start collecting food.
Download this printer-friendly PDF of the above pointers.
Writer: Michelle Ryan
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