Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

HIGH SCHOOLERS HELPING

SD73 Food Drive nets more than 3,700 lbs of food for the Kamloops Food Bank

Dec 15, 2022 | 4:49 PM

KAMLOOPS — A visit from the Kamloops Food Bank has become a tradition on the last week before the winter holiday break at Valleyview Secondary School.

This year marks the fourth year of the annual food drive, that benefits the local food bank.

“Every year we have more schools involved,” Valleyview teacher Christine Yamaoka explains. “This year we have NorKam, Kamloops Christian, SKSS, [Valleyview], Westsyde, and Sahali – that’s right, six! It’s pretty cool that we have all these schools involved and everybody is feeling the spirit at this time of year to give.”

For Yamaoka’s psychology students at Valleyview Secondary, food insecurity was one of the topics they’ve been learning about.

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“A lot of people around Kamloops, or anywhere really, some people might not be able to afford food or have enough food to eat, so we’re just trying to help with that,” Cassie McNutt explains.

Giving back to the community and helping those experiencing food insecurity is important. Maybe more important than the competitive aspect of the food drive.

“All the schools want to help out, and as much as we want to help out, we want to beat the other schools as well,” Benjamin Lyster tells CFJC Today. “For the pride factor, I guess. But helping out is really most important.”

It’s easy to be humble when your school donates two pallets of food, weighing in at over 1400 pounds.

For Wes Graham and the staff and volunteers at the Kamloops Food Bank, that generosity from the youth of the city is inspiring.

“Coming from high schools, and being engaged with the students – these are our future leaders,” Graham says. “These are the people that are coming into our community as adults, and they’re going to have this understanding that if you can give back and you can support other people, it;’s always a good thing.”

After a quick drop-off at the food bank, Isaac is off to another pick-up location. This time, it’s Sahali Secondary. This food drive not only benefits the community but it’s also become an opportunity for students to learn about the role of the food bank in the community.

“A lot of people here are really privileged and it’s really good to be able to share the wealth,” Aidan Cianci tells CFJC Today. “I’ve researched a lot about it, learned what types of foods they donate, what types of foods are necessities, and just like how many people are hungry. And how many people rely on – not just homeless people – but how many people rely on food banks to get their food.”

FINAL STANDINGS:

Norkam Secondary – 121 lbs

Kamloops Christian School – 142 lbs

Sahali Secondary – 156 lbs

Westsyde Secondary – 677 lbs

South Kamloops Secondary – 1,207 lbs

Valleyview Secondary – 1,484 lbs