The Black Student Union (BSU) held a food drive on the Mall, Wednesday and Thursday to benefit low-income students of Hart Elementary school in Canoga Park.
Hart Elementary, located on 21040 Hart St., has many low-income students that might otherwise not have food for the holidays, according to BSU President Jillian Smith.
“Pantries are a limited source of food and some families might not qualify, we provide unlimited and accessible food and we distribute to all families,” said Smith.
Smith along with BSU members Janae Tyler, 21, and Ryan Crane, 21, set up a table with red bins alongside and glittery posters brightly emblazoned with “BSU Food Drive.”
The power outage on campus Wednesday forced them to retract from placing bins in the Freudian Sip and the Bookstore.
However, Crane also voiced concerns over the lack of communication between clubs and students that also effected the initial poor turnout.
” We need to get the word out there, make sure people know so that they can be active in their community,” said Crane, an education major.
Students like freshman Roxana Flores, 19, did not know about the food drive but voiced her desire to help out.
“I definitely plan to donate, I think it’s important and I appreciate that clubs like BSU give us the opportunity to help people in need,” Flores said.
Smith encouraged students to bring in non-perishable foods such as canned soup for students to enjoy especially during the Thanksgiving holiday.
BSU members will gather all the donations and drive them over to Hart Elementary, which was chosen since it is a part of the community.
Smith explained the benefits of the food drive as an all-inclusive way of providing for families.
The concern over accessibility for poor families also struck a chord with Tyler, a psychology major.
“People are struggling, the media doesn’t focus on that,” Tyler said. “People always need food especially during Thanksgiving, if kids aren’t in school for the long weekend, where will they get food?”
BSU has the ultimate goal of continuing the food drive until the week of finals to ensure that students will be able to donate as much as possible.
A bin in the Associated Students Organization (ASO) office located next to the Great Hall, will be there till the end of the semester for students to drop off donations.
“We want others to remember that our future depends on how and what we show younger children. We want children to know that we care,” said Smith. “They are, after all, our future.”
For more information, contact Smith at bsupierce2010@gmail.com.
LINKS:
http://pierceaso.webs.com/clubs.htm
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Hart_EL/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001804664035
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