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Jonathan Williams | The Appalachian
Trent B. Mason unloads more than 400 cans of food for the Hunger Coalition after the Pi Kappa Alpha haunted trail. |
PKA haunted trail a big help
by Amanda Fowler
Staff Writer
Trent B. Mason backed his truck up to the loading dock at the Hunger Coalition. The barrel and bags full of canned food were difficult to lift out of the bed but this is a proud moment for Mason and his fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha.
He and his brothers collected over 400 cans during a haunted trail event during Halloween.
Pi Kappa Alpha’s idea to put on the haunted trail came originally as a way to raise money for their fraternity. However, they added to the fundraiser by offering $1 off on admission for those who brought a canned food item.
“We thought it’d be a really good idea; it’s getting winter time and people are going to need a lot more food than they do in the summer,” Mason, a junior business management major at Appalachian State University, said. “We thought that’d be a great idea [giving] $1 off if you bring a can; we can give that to the Hunger Coalition and help out a whole lot within the community.”
According to Mason, 500 people attended the haunted trail, most of whom took advantage of the canned food offer.
The food Mason dropped off at the Hunger Coalition will be sorted and put into boxes. These boxes are arranged so that the families are given the proper amounts of nutrition.
David R. Farthing, client services coordinator and volunteer coordinator at the Hunger Coalition, said a family or person becomes eligible to pick up one of these boxes every two months.
When the family or person arrives, they come to Farthing who presents them with a voucher, which is their ticket for a food box.
Clients then take their food vouchers to the pantry to pick up a box from pantry manager Jessie J. Weber, who has been a volunteer at the Hunger Coalition for almost 10 years.
“[I like] helping people.” Weber said. “It makes me feel good to hand them a box of food or something, doing something for them.”
In addition to the food boxes, the Hunger Coalition’s clients are able to get food donated by grocery stores. The families or individuals are allowed to get two bags of donated bread and produce per day.
For those who do not have cooking facilities or cannot make it the two months between boxes, they can receive up to four meals donated by restaurants.
In order to qualify for the Hunger Coalition’s food program, a family or individual must be at 130 percent of the poverty level, according to Farthing.
For more information on the Hunger Coalition or how to volunteer, call David Farthing at 262-1628.
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