The RAHS food shelf has gotten gradually and gradually bigger, moving from a small cardboard box to completely taking over the Raider Gear Room. Despite it being closed for the season, it still had a great impact on the Roseville community. After Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) continual presence in the Twin Cities, RAHS has taken big leaps in helping families in need.
ICE has had a huge impact on many families around the country, especially in Minnesota. People are scared to go out and leave their houses in fear of getting detained by ICE, which makes even simple things like getting groceries a scary and difficult task. Along with the protests and strikes that have been taking place around the United States, there has been an increased need for help in the form of food shelves.
The RAHS food shelf is run with the help of student and parent volunteers. One parent volunteer, Sophia Kim, volunteered weekly organizing and accepting donations for the shelf. Kim said that although the weekly volunteering finished at the end of March, “the school is transitioning their efforts to us planning on having an advisory committee to figure out the next steps”.
Volunteering is a great way to help someone in need and feel good while doing it. The RAHS Drama Club, for example, had a night back in February where students in the club joined together to put together meal prep bags for families in need. The worked for two hours pulling sauces, noodles, and other ingredients from the Raider Gear Room and bringing them to the cafeteria to pack them in boxes and paper bags, designed with colorful stickers and markers.
A student volunteer, Esmie Sandanayake, volunteered at the food shelf very often. She said that not only was volunteering at the food shelf good hours for key club, NHS, and AVID, but it was super easy and helped a lot of people in need. She said the food shelf is important because it provides “healthy, sustainable food”. For her, volunteering is one of the most important things a person can do for their community. She said, “I work in the community whenever I can because it is easy for my schedule…I’ve learned and seen how much people appreciate familiar faces that come to help”.
The RAHS food shelf has been a great addition to the school and hopes to grow even larger in the coming years. Donate food or other necessities today to help the community!
