On Nov. 17, Student Council collected over 2,300 non-perishable food items to donate to the O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry in St. Charles. 

“We like the O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry because they are local. They are also great to work with and always in need of donations,” StuCo sponsor Katie Bange said.

StuCo has been holding an annual food drive every year for over 17 years.

“I like that we give to a local food pantry, because we know that it’s helping families around here and possibly students who go to our school and other students who are in tough situations,” StuCo president Laurel Jockisch said.

The food is collected through each 1st hour as a class competition. This year, science teacher Ryan Painter’s 1st hour class won the competition, collecting 327 items of food. 

“My first hour was extremely motivated, and we had a class goal-meter on the whiteboard that we were trying to hit. There were a bunch of different students who brought in the cans, and we ended up winning Panera bagels,” Painter said.

StuCo members stayed after school to collect donations.

“It was super fun. We all gathered in the classroom before going out in groups to deliver the food cans to the truck,” freshman Shresta Nekkanti said.

Art teacher Bryan Kyser’s 1st hour came in second with 218 cans, and art teacher Laura McLaughlin’s class won the raffle available to classes who collected at least 25 cans.

“I love to see our classes get involved, as well as donations from our StuCo members. It’s always a fun event for our members to collect cans and load the truck,” Bange said. “It’s wonderful for us Vikings to give back to others in their own community. It reminds us to help others.”