Feeding America

New Club Aims for Charity
by Omar Arce

Thanksgiving weekend just passed. This meant that many of rejoiced in eating and shopping. Thanksgiving is probably the only holiday when gluttony and spending a gross amount of money are celebrated. It must have been fun for those of us where able to fulfill these traditions. But what about those who could not afford a meal on Thanksgiving, or go shopping on black Friday? One in eight Americans do not have access to essential food. To stop this unbelievable but true trend in the country, many organizations run programs to provide food to people in need. Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Most noticeable are their ads in NBC's The Biggest Loser and in the back of candy wrappers such as Snickers. Although it may seem like a program alien to San Diego, Feeding America has a branch at Southwest High. The branch was recently founded by Araceli Diaz. Raiders' Digest had the opportunity to talk to Diaz. Here is the interview:

RD: Why did you decide to start this program at SOH?
AD: I decided to begin this club at school which is already a world known international program, because I realized that hunger isn't just in the eyes of of other children or their families that are in other countries. Hunger is affecting greatly American families that are in desperate need of a simple decent meal. I want to, along with the other members and those who want to donate, to at least attempt to decrease the amount of hungry American families in the United States.

RD: How did u start it ? Where did u hear from it?
AD: I started this club like any other at school, with the mandatory paper work and with a few interested people in becoming part of it. I originally heard of this program by watching television on the show called,The Biggest Loser. Ironic though, how the show is meant for overweight people to lose weight and how the program encourages viewers to contribute with donations to feed America....

RD: Is the main goal of this club to raise money?
AD: The main goal of this club is to provide a basic decent meal to all those hungry American families that are undergoing harsh difficult times. Especially now with the rough economy. By a simple donation of one dollar, just one dollar will guarantee a family with nine pounds of food.

RD: What has the club accomplished so far?
AD: So far, the club will be collecting donations from each class (those want to be a part of this program) once a month and so on, until the end of the school year. This will continue until the end of the school year and all of the donations will be sent to the feeding America organization. Pretty soon there will be a bake sale, so we're expecting it to be a success. Every teacher has had fliers about feeding America put in their box.

RD: Any info for people interested?
AD: Anyone that is still interested can still join. It's open for anyone, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. All you have to do is show up for the club meetings in room 310 every Wednesday during lunch.

RD: Who or what was your inspiration to start the program?
AD: I've always wanted to help anyone in need, anywhere from lending them a hand or helping them cross the street. But just one week ago while I was going out with my family I saw the real eyes of a hungry young child. There was a little boy and his mother begging for money just to get by through the day. I couldn't just keep on walking and ignore the poor child and his mother and not care about them. The money I had with me which I intended to spend on myself, I ended up giving it to them. I said,"here you probably need it more than I do." To me the amount of money i had was meaningless, but to them it was heaven.

RD: Any plans for the future of the program?
AD: I would like to take this program to the next level. but i want to focus right now in the present, one step at a time. i can't worry about the future if i don't even know what will happen in the next five minutes. this year will be the trial year where we will see how well we did.
Perhaps the next time you have spare change and think about putting it in a piggy bank, you will donated to Feeding America. After all, cents are the difference between a full stomach and an empty stomach.