Each year, the Apex High School Key Club hosts a yearlong project that aims to help our community. This year, they have chosen to collect cans of food for Backpack Buddies. Backpack Buddies supports local schools by providing food to students who cannot afford it. For some students, school is their only source of nutrition. According to foodbankcenc.org, 15% of the Wake County population is considered food insecure, which includes more than 55,420 children under the age of eighteen . To ensure that these students are getting the food that they need, they are sent home with food in their bags to eat over the weekend.

Malnutrition is a worldwide issue, and the Backpack Buddies program directly contributes to resolving it within our community. Key Club President Tyler Rosado stated, “In the past, we have done projects that support our global community, but we find it important to equally support the local community with this event. Not only is this a great example of student leadership and service, but a manifestation of neighbor helping neighbor.”

Key Club’s goal is to collect and donate 1,500 pounds of food this school year. They have been collecting food for three weeks, and so far, have successfully collected 180 pounds of food, which is 12% of their goal. While the drive is organized through Key Club specifically, all students are encouraged to donate. Xayah Augustine, one of the Project Chairs leading the drive, explained, “We are so thankful for the donations we have received, but we still have far to go to reach our goal. We would love to get teachers and parents involved in helping this cause, and we would appreciate your support in doing so. It would be great if you could help spread the word about this issue and encourage parents and teachers to donate if possible.” Students can drop off canned goods in Ms. Dott’s room (3101) to be donated. Parents can also drop off canned goods to the office. The drive will be going on through the rest of the school year.

If you have any questions about the drive or would like to partner with Key Club, feel free to reach out to Xayah at her email (xmaugustine@students.wcpss.net). Additionally, for more information on the drive and all the other things Key Club is doing, check out their newsletter at http://bit.ly/ahskcnews.