OPD5 completed its 14th annual Holiday Food Drive last week. District personnel showed up at schools in both Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley on Monday morning, Dec. 2. With the help of students, they quickly gathered up canned food donations and loaded them onto a truck to be delivered to local food banks in time for the holidays.
All eight area schools participated in the event. Mack Lyon Middle School in Overton opted to complete its food drive earlier this season. But MVHS, VVHS, Grant Bowler Elementary, Perkins Elementary, JL Bowler Elementary, and Arthur Hughes Middle School all wrapped up their drives last week.
Student leaders at each school organized their own drive, encouraging students to bring in food donations with a variety of competitions and incentives.
Perhaps the biggest incentive comes from OPD5, though. The top donating class at each school gets a special ice cream party, courtesy of the district.
“It is a great way for us to be involved in supporting our local schools and to be engaged in the community,” said OPD5 Public Relations Supervisor Kristi Eames. “It has been a wonderful tradition for us over the years.”
Officials from the recipient food banks expressed appreciation for OPD5 efforts as well as that of the school children.
Penny Vallone of Moapa Valley Family Resource Center (MVFRC) in Overton emphasized the importance of the food bank in the community. The MVFRC averages around 250 case files of families needing help at any given time. The food pantry supplies an immediate need for some of those families while MVFRC staff helps them to apply for more permanent help from state and federal programs, Vallone said.
“The OPD5 food drive has been really important to us over the years,” Vallone said. “It helps get our pantry well-stocked in time for the holidays. And it keeps us stocked well past that, into the first few months of the year. We really appreciate the generous efforts from OPD5, the schools and the community.”
The Virgin Valley Community Food Bank, which has been serving needy families in the community for more than 20 years now, is the recipient of donations made in Mesquite and Bunkerville schools. Food bank coordinator Leslee Montgomery said that her operation serves an average of 115 families per week.
Montgomery said that the lion’s share of the food distributed at Virgin Valley Community Food Bank is purchased with generous cash donations from community members, or from direct donations of food from various businesses.
But the OPD5 food drive provides some extra needed help to get the food bank through the holidays fully stocked.
“For me, the fact that our local school kids are doing this and showing that they care about others; that is what makes this particular food drive special,” Montgomery said. “And we really appreciate OPD5 and their support. It really shows that the district is an integral part of our community.”