In Texas nearly 1.7 million children face hunger and one out of every four children are hungry.
Recently, local students in the National Honor Society opted to help fight hunger. Lipscomb Peace Pantry, a local food pantry in Dallas based out of Lipscomb Elementary School gives out food to kids in need. Lipscomb was officially opened in 2016 as a result of the prior opening of the Woodrow Wilson Peace Pantry at the Woodrow Wilson High School.
“They [DISD] wanted to make sure they [students] could find a place to find food on the weekends,” Lipscomb Peace Pantry chair Louise Bexley said. “And it trickled down to junior high and then the elementary schools.”
Since then, the pantry has been operating on a weekly basis by giving out food on the weekends by having those in need sign up on a list, allowing them to be able to get food for as long as needed.
Lipscomb continues to have a positive impact around the community, but nevertheless the call for help never ceases to end. Because of this, the National Honor Society chose Lipscomb Peace Pantry as their fall service project; there was a food drive to help support Lipscomb’s cause.
“We planned to help package food bags that provide families with sufficient meals to make at home,” NHS President Bella McNulty said.
Within a couple of weeks, the NHS came up with dates, talked with Lipscomb, organized tasks and then finally they brought and packaged up the food.
“The shoppers bought the food items listed in a Sign Up Genius,” McNulty said. “The packers will then pack up all the food into the food packs, and the drivers will drive all of the food up to the pantry.”
In a growing world of problems, volunteering to help others is a practical way to help the people and give back to the community. This idea fuels the National Honor Society, whose members must not only perform well academically but also commit to helping the community.
“I think for the Lipscomb elementary community it [the drive] impacts it greatly,” NHS organizer Meredith Townsend said. “You are providing sustenance for kids who may not have it, which is a really important thing.”
Townsend acted as the liaison between NHS and Lipscomb to ensure smooth communication and maintaining deadlines. She proposed the idea of Lipscomb as their service project after the drives the school has been doing and thought of it as a good beneficiary.
“Our officers who did the Sign Up Genius helped make sure kids bring their stuff and they will pack the cars,” Townsend said. “I’m the point of contact for Lipscomb Elementary, so I do the communication on that end, and the kids do the rest.”
After planning and organizing the drive, NHS continued to make progress to ensure that Lipscomb got what they needed, with easy to prepare and healthy food choices.
“All [foods] are shelf stable and/or easy to cook using limited kitchen appliances,” McNulty said. “Like canned chicken, cup of noodles, canned pasta, granola bars, milk and much more.”
NHS’s strong belief in helping others has allowed them to go above and beyond in their service towards the community.
“This allows the NHS to uphold the pillar of service and help the community in every way we can,” McNulty said. “This helps the pantry as they are able to give this food to families struggling to afford food so they are able to make meals at home for them and their kids.”
Volunteering has never been about completing a goal or getting a prize according to NHS members. It’s about spreading joy and passing it to the next generation.
“For our kids I think it’s good to see how they can help other people,” Townsend said. “It’s good for them to give service to other groups. It’s really good for them to do that.”
