As the holidays approach, people reach out to the North Texas Food Bank to help others in need.

Over 20 percent of people in Dallas County are food insecure, the condition of being unable to provide adequate food for a healthy life for all members of a household due to lack of money or other resources. There are various organizations dedicated to bringing this number down, but among them all North Texas Food Bank really stands out.

North Texas Food Bank works year-round to end hunger, though their efforts can especially be felt around the holiday season, even around the high school. On November 17th, five of the six HP schools, including the high school, will be participating in the Scots 4 Turkeys drive. The event is put on by student council and encourages students to drop off frozen turkeys at the student entrance before school. Students can also go online at anytime until November 27th and donate funds to the North Texas Food Bank that will be used to buy roasting hens. So far the high school has raised $1,420, which will buy 94 roasting hens for families to enjoy this Thanksgiving.

“I always bring a turkey for the Scots 4 Turkey drive. I think it’s really cool that we can come together as a school and help out some less fortunate families around Dallas. Thanksgiving especially is a time where you shouldn’t be worrying about finding a meal to eat, so the fact that we can help change that as a school is something I’m proud to be apart of,” senior Katie Dalton said.

North Texas Food Bank is also putting on its annual Christmas Carol Event from November 25th to December 26th to raise money for hungry families. Each year the Wyly Theater puts on a production of the Christmas Carol, and immediately following the show actors collect donations from the audience to donate to North Texas Food Bank. Last year they were able to provide 225,000 meals with the money collected after the shows.

The North Texas Food Bank is also always looking for groups and individuals to come volunteer, something students take advantage of. Last year ASTRA, a girls’ service club, had their winter service project at the North Texas Food Bank to help out during the busy holiday season.

“It was really awesome to be able to help such a great organization. We worked for three hours and did lots of packaging, organizing, and really any other jobs they needed us to do. It was definitely a lot of hard work, but was well worth it,” senior Alex Vallera said.

So whether it be through a school drive, donation, club, or just by yourself, there are many ways to give back and donate to the North Texas Food Bank this holiday season.