During the Lenten season, it is always important to participate in almsgiving. Almsgiving is voluntarily giving money, goods, or services to those in need. There are many ways to do this, including on campus where our school will be hosting a food drive where students can donate any food items to families in need.

This food drive had a lot of planning go into it. Mr. Horejs, the main planner of the food drive, said, “We make an action plan and try to get as many people involved as possible.” This year our school wanted to include as many clubs and groups as they could to make everyone feel involved. It takes a lot of planning and effort to figure out how they will include everyone and how to get as many people involved as possible. Mr. Horejs explained, “We reach out to ASB and student clubs. We are also open to anyone who wants to get involved.”

The food drive is open to getting a variety of donations such as fresh fruit, canned goods, and so much more. Mr. Horejs said, “We are accepting canned items, boxed items, meals ready to eat, pasta, pasta sauce, tuna, spam, beans, corn, canned and fresh fruit, but especially for the food drive I would love to see mostly non-perishable items.”

The food drive will be held the week of the 20th and the most important job for students is to donate food items. Courtney Tarle, a student here at Cathedral said, “I am grateful for an opportunity to give back during this Lenten season.” If you want to get more involved with the drive, tell your family and friends that they can also donate. Mr. Horejs encouraged, “Spreading the word is the biggest part.” By telling people you know what the food pantry at our school is and does it can inspire them to donate food items as well. According to the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, Catholic Charities, the organization the drive is run by “created the emergency food distribution network to distribute food to those facing food security.

Students can drop off their food items outside the ASB classroom or if families are dropping off boxes of stuff you can reach out to Mr. Horejs to arrange dropping those items off closer to the pantry. The food pantry is a great way to give back to our community especially during the Lenten season. Mr. Horejs encourages students to, “Remember to give back to our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate especially during the time of Lent.”