By: Genevieve Rippeon

This year is the 49th annual Mt. Hebron Canned Food Drive (CFD). The CFD occurs every year around the holiday season from mid-November to late December. The goal of the CFD is to raise money and cans for those in need during the holiday season. However, a lot goes on behind the scenes that most people do not see.

The pioneers of the CFD are the Mt. Hebron students, but especially those in the leadership classes. The leadership classes make videos to raise awareness about the food drive. The CFD is a competition amongst all Mt. Hebron classes to see who can raise the most money or cans and win a pizza party.

Every student takes the food drive to heart and works tirelessly to raise the most they can. Different leadership classes go to local restaurants and grocery stores and stand outside collecting donations for the drive.

“There is constant effort, and kids constantly standing outside in the cold, trying to collect money. It does bring the community together and lets you make new friends,” said Arooj Vahora, Mt. Hebron senior and leadership student.

Then, on delivery day, students spend all day at Mt. Hebron packaging the cans and preparing them for delivery, for which community members volunteer.

This beloved tradition has developed in recent years to match the world’s ever-changing technology. People can now contribute through online payments, which has helped collect more donations.

“People can donate to the drive by sending money via OSP (online school payments) or donating cash and writing the period of leadership that you want to give the money to. Or, you could also donate cans that will help out the families,” said Amelia Mingo, Mt. Hebron senior and leadership student.

The canned food drive is a significant event for Mt. Hebron as it cultivates the community and helps those in need during what is supposed to be the happiest time of year.

“It brings the community together by having other leadership kids work together, and it brings neighborhoods together because we collect cans from neighborhoods. It lets people do community service,” said Vahora.

The leadership students bundle up for the winter weather to spend time outside school walking with wagons around neighborhoods, going house-to-house in the Mt. Hebron community collecting cans.

They can also raise money in other ways, too. Some leadership classes create baked food sales and sell them outside shopping centers to collect cash for the drive.

Overall, the Mt. Hebron canned food drive is an essential event and experience for the Mt. Hebron community that goes beyond the school. Students are holding for an even more successful year in 2024, as it will be the 50th anniversary of the drive.