Every year, the National Honors Society runs a food drive, right around the holiday season, to donate food to the local food bank and help out those in need.

Going on 15 years, the NHS food drive runs from November 28th to December 2nd, just after Thanksgiving Break. Students participating in NHS work to gather food from both the community and the students of Erie High School. This food will then be brought to the Erie community food bank, which has operated for 28 years, and is given to those in need of it. 

Greta von Bernuth, a NHS director, elaborated on why she loves this event. “I love how the students come together and work, I love how the community reaches out and donates, and I love that we are able to help those in need.”

The Erie community food bank helps make Erie a more unified and welcoming town. Located on Briggs Street, people in need of some extra help can go there to gather food and supplies for their home in order to live comfortably. During the holiday season, food is at a higher demand, so food drives such as the one run by the NHS are essential. 

Joanna Toy, a 6 year food bank volunteer, explained how helpful this food drive is, not only for the less fortunate members of the Erie community, but also for the volunteers at the food bank who work so hard to operate it. She elaborated that, “This time of year our shelves are getting a little more bare and so we rely on the community to stock those shelves for us, so we love our partnership with the NHS because we are able to feed more people because of their efforts.”

While this event is especially beneficial to the people in need, NHS students also benefit from this event in many ways. Not only do they gain volunteer hours, a requirement for them to gain credits for being a part of NHS, but they also gain more knowledge about the world around them. Von Bernuth explained that “It’s really a rewarding event for them to be able to gather the food and donate to some people that really need it.”

The NHS food drive is an event that has become a tradition at Erie High School, and is sure to carry on for many years. Thanks to the donations and enthusiasm of the community, the food drive always turns out successful and helps improve the lives of those in the community.