1400 food items onto an OPD5 truck to be delivered to Cappalappa Family Resource Center
food pantry.
OPD5 staff and the students at Mack Lyon Middle School (MLMS) teamed up last month in a
food drive meant to replenish the stores at the Cappalappa Family Resource Center food pantry.
This is the 14th year that OPD5 has teamed up with local schools in this effort, and there is
more to come.
The larger share of the OPD5 food drive, which takes place at schools in both Moapa Valley
and Virgin Valley, takes place in November. And those will still take place. However, the student
council at MLMS preferred to get an earlier start.
“The kids like to get our food drive done ahead of the holidays because this is a time when the
stores in the food pantries are a little lower,” said Jeanna Mortensen, student council advisor at
MLMS. “During the holidays there are already a lot of food drives going on.”
OPD5 was fully on board with that plan. On Friday morning, Sept. 27, several OPD5 staffers
drove trucks to the school and helped the student council members load up more than 1,400
food items that had been gathered over the past two weeks at the school.
“We are always excited to partner with our local students in these drives,” said OPD5 Customer
Service Supervisor Kristi Eames who helped coordinate the drive. “The kids at Mack Lyon really
came through and made it happen. I know that their efforts really help the food pantries and the
local people who use those services. And we are happy to be a part of it.”
The food drive ran for two weeks from Sept. 16-27. The MLMS student council worked hard to
make it fun for the young participants. It was presented as a contest between the three class
levels at the school. Whichever grade level gathered the most food was to enjoy a big pizza
party together, courtesy of OPD5.
Throughout the two weeks, the numbers were posted to show where each class stands in the
effort. “The kids really love it, and they look forward to it every year!” Mortensen said. “It is
especially fun when teachers get excited about it with them and get into the competition. That
really helps the kids rise to the occasion.”
In the end, the MLMS sixth graders won the contest this year bringing in more than 600 items of
the total gathered.
“It was a good year and the students did really well,” Mortensen said. “We are grateful for OPD5
and their support. It has really been a good partnership over the years.”