If there is one thing that everyone can finally agree on this year, that would be that 2020 has been far from normal. Many have gone through more trauma in a single year than one ever expects to experience in a lifetime. Fortunately, many have taken the initiative to create opportunities for others to better the world, while staying socially distanced. Recently, SHS’s very own Student Senate began to organize a food drive for those who have been less fortunate during these difficult times. 

SHS junior and Student Senate President, Elise Carter, explained how the group decided on holding a food drive.

“We wanted to do an activity that involved the whole Senate and was really impactful,” Carter says. “Obviously these are hard times for people, so we wanted to do something that was helpful.”

Since Senate has been known to annually host a food drive, the group wanted to try to make it happen again this year, even if it meant that they would need to put in additional work. 

“With the new order, practically everything had to be virtual. There’s absolutely no contact, so finding ways to […] be able to do this virtually was kind of difficult,” Carter says.

Co-Advisor and SHS’s Speech Language Pathologist, Kathleen Kasberg, explained in an email how the group rallied to host this food drive, even if it meant that they would have to do it without any contact. 

“The Senate wanted to find a way to still host the annual food drive at a time that the community needs the most help,” Kasberg says. “We decided to have it in December to allow for more planning time to make sure we could make it as safe and easy as possible.”

Kasberg talked about the hurdles that they had to overcome, specific to this year, in order to make the food drive a reality.

“The main obstacles have been planning a food drive that follows safety guidelines and was easy to access for students who may not live close to the high school, as they are not coming into the building each day,” Kasberg says.

The food drive started on Dec. 14 and will be taking place until Dec. 18. Kasberg explained how the community can contribute.

“There will be multiple boxes set up at [SHS, Fox Prairie, and Kegonsa]. The categories for donations are canned vegetables, canned fruits, soups, peanut butter and jelly, [pasta, rice and noodles], Spaghettios and beans, soaps and personal care items, sweets and snacks, pasta sauce and tomato sauce, and miscellaneous,” Kasberg says. “We are encouraging people to sort their donations into those different boxes to make it easier for the Stoughton Food Pantry to get these items to families as soon as possible! The food will then be dropped off at the pantry at the end of the week,” Kasberg says.

The Senate is hopeful for a successful drive and encourages the community to participate. Kasberg wanted to thank the community in advance for all of their support.

Kasberg says, “I am very proud of the students for their hard work and creativity during this difficult year. They’ve gone above and beyond in thinking of ways to make the food drive safe and accessible to help our community.”