By Brenda Erdahl
The COVID Pandemic put Maple Lake High School’s We Scare Hunger food collection on hold for two years, but now it is back, and it is needed more than ever.
With the cost of groceries at a record high more and more families have been turning to the local food shelves. Maple Lake Schools has a program called Backpack Buddies that further helps families struggling to put food on the table. That’s where We Scare Hunger comes in.
Every Halloween – except 2020 and 2021 – students from Maple Lake Schools Rachel’s Challenge group takes to the streets and neighborhoods of Maple Lake for some “trick or treating” for non-perishable and canned goods. What they collect joins other food items – snacks and the makings of meals- which select students bring home with them every Friday in a backpack.
According to Rachel’s Challenge Advisor Debbie Stang, the number of students enrolled in the program this year already surpasses that of last year. There is a real need right now she said, and both the backpack program and the local food shelf is feeling it.
Some of the food students collect on Halloween (which this year is Monday, Oct. 31) will go toward the Annandale Food Shelf and Thanksgiving Baskets. Thanksgiving Baskets are another option Rachel’s Challenge provides annually for families in need. The Maple Lake Lions and school staff all contribute monetarily to this cause, that supplies struggling families with a Thanksgiving meal. Last year the group gave out 25 baskets, which are really laundry baskets or re-usable totes packed full of items including a turkey, ham, potatoes, pie, cool whip, pancakes, Jello, Kool Aid, stuffing, milk cheese and eggs – basically anything you could possibly need to make a meal – plus necessities like laundry detergent, dish soap and toilet paper, Stang said.
Not only does We Scare Hunger fill a need, it’s fun, said senior members of the group.