For many, Thanksgiving is a time of family get-togethers, political disputes and of course Thanksgiving dinner. However, for the clubs that participated in this year’s food drive, it was a time to give back to their community

    Since the school’s opening in 1998, it has been a yearly tradition for Krop’s clubs and organizations to create baskets of goods filled with foods donated by club members.

 “The baskets are then distributed to some of our students whose families might be struggling, some of our faculty members who might be in need, or people in the neighborhoods surrounding Krop,” Activities Director Michelle Russell said.

 The baskets are filled with canned goods, Thanksgiving dinner ingredients and $30 in Publix gift cards. Anything that doesn’t get into a basket on time is donated to Feeding South Florida, a local non-profit organization that provides food to the less fortunate.

        “A lot of times people are embarrassed to sometimes admit that they need help and I feel like that’s just part of life and part of us just being in this together,” Russell said.  “So it’s our job to not only tell other people that we’re in need when we’re in need but also, when within our own capacity to assist when we need to assist.” 

     The food drive ran from the beginning of November up until Thanksgiving week, when the baskets and any other donations including gift cards and toys were passed around to those in need. In total, 36 clubs created 38 baskets to be donated to the community, and an additional 15 boxes of food were given to Feeding South Florida.
“Even though they do projects, it’s good for them to help out with the community during the holidays by donating food,” Science teacher Todd Thompkins said. “The clubs are not just about SECME projects but community service as well.”