Masuk Free Press

The Monroe Food Pantry is an important resource of food and other items during difficult times. People who experience food insecurity know it is a safe and reliable place where they will always be treated with kindness, and respect for their needs. 

Now, this security is threatened by low stock in the pantry. Foods like pasta, canned goods and beans are coming in less and less, barely seen on the shelves.

 To help solve this problem, Masuk’s Interact Club and Red Army teamed up with the food pantry to collect donations. Together, they created the Fill the Bucket Challenge, a way to give back to those in need. 

The challenge lasted for two weeks, and the Interact Club made many trips to the pantry as the buckets filled up. 

Lauren Iverson, the advisor of the Interact Club, said, “We’ve already done two runs to the food pantry so I feel like there’s a lot more donations. It’s not just the staff, there’s definitely more students involved too.”

In a select few classrooms, the Interact Club put an orange Home Depot bucket to be filled up with donations. For that bucket, students were instructed to bring food, supplies and non-perishable items. By the end of the challenge, Masuk students had collected more than 300 pounds of food and other items for the pantry.

The Fill the Bucket Challenge is very important to the Monroe community, as it gives people the opportunity to get the items they need without fearing something’s unavailability.

  Food Pantry owner Mary Ann Kalm stated, “The pantry serves a steady 125 families every month. This number tends to increase during the holiday season. I would say this is a fluid number depending on financial difficulties that arise and how this impacts families in the community.” 

The pantry, especially for families, plays a crucial role in assisting them throughout the entire year. During summer break, when school is closed, kids who were on lunch programs no longer get that meal. That is when the food pantry intervenes to help and provide the items families need.

However, not only is the local food pantry experiencing low stock, but recently more pantries nationwide have been struggling to keep up. Over the years, the economy and inflation prices have increased on items like food, gas and household appliances. This caused many pantries to have a harder time keeping things in stock. They have to be able to source, move, store and distribute food to people in need, all while experiencing the effects of higher prices. Subsequently, the pantries do not have enough money to have all necessary items in stock. 

Food pantries have also been given fewer donations. Many families have to focus more on whether they have enough money for their own food and not for the pantries. The food pantries are affected by this, as many of them only rely on donations from others.

Inflation is not only affecting the food pantries and their supplies, but many consumers as well. Regular civilians have to pay so much more for necessary items while paying for housing, health care, child care and many other expenses. People with low incomes or those who are food insecure have to rely on the food pantries, as they cannot support themselves. 

The struggle between inflation, food pantries and working families makes it very difficult for everyone to get the things they need. That is why food drives and fundraisers are so essential in supporting the food pantry.

Alison Rosa, a sophomore at Masuk, said, “I donated things like pasta, tuna, beans and corn muffins. I did this because I wanted to help other people who need the food more than I do. I think it’s important to have food drives like the bucket challenge because they help those who are less fortunate than I am.”

In the Monroe community, food drives are crucial in keeping the pantry full and thriving. The pantry relies on donations from generous individuals for its operation. Fundraisers like the Fill the Bucket Challenge not only help people in need by getting donations, but also show how much Masuk High School cares for its community.