Each year, the YIELD group (Youth Investing Energy in Leadership Development) completes a community impact project as a graduation requirement. YIELD students are high school juniors from MCHS, Newman, and the Alternative High School who have been identified by school administrators and faculty as future leaders. This year’s class decided to help local middle school and high school students battle hunger, creating a program named “Food Fighters” to lead the charge.
Through their research, the YIELD group learned that 40% of high school students in the Mason City School District qualify for the free or reduced lunch program. While there is currently a program in place to provide weekend food for elementary school children, there is not assistance for their older peers. The leadership group pitched their idea to Armour-Eckrich and received a $3,000 grant that they will use to use purchase healthy, perishable foods to accompany canned and boxed foods, which still need to be obtained.
YIELD students are asking for community support of their “Food Fighters” program. The group contacted local grocery stores to participate in the efforts and will be holding a special food drive on Saturday, November 22nd from 10AM-2PM, at Hy-Vee East, Hy-Vee West, and Fareway in Mason City.
At the Hy-Vee stores, look for the students set up at a table with their “Food Fighters” sign. Customers encouraged to donate $5 will receive a barcode to be scanned at checkout. The $5 will be added to the customer bill and put in an account for Food Fighters. Account funds will be used to purchase the groceries for the students in need.
Fareway will also have a $5 donation option, set up differently. Customers will be asked if they would like to add $5 to their bill at checkout and then will be handed a pre-assembled grocery bag containing $5 worth of specific non-perishable food items. The shopper will then place the bag in the “Food Fighters” designated area on their way out of the store.
Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank has agreed to assist YIELD students to pick up groceries at the stores. The YIELD group will repackage the food and deliver to the high school social worker for anonymous distribution to middle school and high school students in need. Distribution will begin in January, after the holidays, when donations by other means have diminished.