By: Subhi Yadav
While I’m sure every single THS Upper School student knows what Hiller Harvest is, do all of us really understand the benefits and impacts of our small actions? For us, it is easy to forget the reality of the lives of a lot of people not only in our state, but in our country, and in the world. There are people all over who struggle with getting enough food for a variety of saddening reasons. However, our efforts during Hiller Harvest have the potential to help so many people in our community.
During the few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving Break, the entire school participates in a
combined effort in order to collect a variety of food and grocery items. These items collected then go to LCS (Lutheran Community Services). LCS is a program and nonprofit that helps people with food, housing, and health. One of the places THS Hiller Harvest items ends up is their program, Food is Medicine.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege to do research with Michelle Axe from the Christiana Care side of the program and Rob Gurnee from the LCS side of the program. Both explained that at the heart of Food is Medicine, so many people come together to help people move their lives in a positive direction, whether it be learning how to cook healthier, learning how to shop at a grocery store, or even finding access to fresh food. While our efforts may seem minimal, purchasing and donating a few cans of food can impact so many more people than you would ever think.
The importance of small donations cannot be stressed enough. Talking with Allison Chi ‘26,
the chair of the Service Board, she explains that especially for children “this event can make a big difference since kids often don’t get enough to eat because of factors like a lack of affordable housing and low family incomes that take money away from buying food.” By providing food to LCS and their programs, it ensures that families can take their mind away temporarily from some of their daily struggles.
Additionally, though many might not even think of this when talking about Hiller Harvest, children with hunger usually have lower academic performances and more health problems. Allison feels like the event is “a great way for our school to get involved in service. We donated over 3,376 Thanksgiving items to LCS as a whole school which really goes to show how much of an impact we can make.”
Allison Chi, Avery Biery, and Elliot Biery helping load cars
Further emphasizing Allison’s point, our school has the capability to make a huge difference in our community. Just judging by the number of items donated, the students in each division truly came out in support of this event! While we may mindlessly donate to Hiller Harvest, it is important to understand the impact of our actions. If this article brings about any interest in helping the community, LCS has several food banks in Delaware and students are always welcome to help out the community!
Comentarios