Competition helps Hunter High donate to needy

Throughout the holiday season, many people in our community go without the food and comforts that so many others enjoy. For this reason, the student body officers and class officers at Hunter High School held a food drive. The response to the drive set new school records.

“We wanted to do this before Thanksgiving since we knew that a lot of people go hungry at that time,” Hunter SBO Historian Tayler Buffi said. “We wanted to get people excited about it and give as much as we possibly could.”

During the two weeks of the food drive, which ended Nov 23, the school collected cans, boxes, jars and money (each dollar donated counted as one can of food) that totaled 3,302 food items. According to Tayler, this was far more than the school had ever collected before. Those donations were then given to the Utah Food Bank.

“I’m proud of everyone who participated and who were willing to help out in our food drive,” SBO First Vice President Latai Sotele said.

“I would like to add how much the community, including parents and teachers, helped our cause,” said Tyler Mastsamas, Hunter’s SBO president.

To add some excitement to the food drive, each grade level competed against the others for who could donate the most cans of food. Several Hunter High teachers also got involved by not only donating food themselves, but also offering extra credit for those who gave to the cause.

At the end, the sophomores showed up their older peers by donating more than 700 food items.

 “I was devastated that the sophomores beat out us seniors,” Tayler said. “But it was all for a good cause. It was great for our school to come together to make a difference and raise a lot for families in our community.”

Scott Klein, the school’s adviser to the student body officers, was pleased with how the collection took place. “I couldn’t be more proud of our school for all their support and our student body officers for all they did to put on this year’s food drive,” he said.

Following the success of the drive, the student body officers have other plans to continue in the spirit of giving. Over Valentine’s Day in February, the officers are planning a school blood drive.

“This time though, it will be girls against boys, a battle of the sexes,” Tayler said. “And I think the girls will win.”