Area 30 donates to food pantry

Judy Miller of the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry recently accepted a donation from Area 30 Career Center of 1,600 items. Pictured are (front, from left) Harold Jones, Eric Nation, Ethan Mitchell, (back) Miller, Taylor Wurr, Kenny Benge and Zachery Graham.

GREENCASTLE -- A number of families in Putnam County will enjoy Thanksgiving dinner thanks to students at the Area 30 Career Center.

The school held its sixth annual food drive over the past two weeks to benefit the Senior Center Food Pantry in Greencastle. Student Council representatives coordinated the drive and asked students to donate as many nonperishable items, such as canned goods or boxed meals.

Classes competed against each other to see who could bring in the most food at the end of the food drive. A total of 1,600 items were collected over the past two weeks, and were delivered to the food pantry on Tuesday by teachers and students from the Area 30 Career Center.

"It is great to teach students the importance of giving back to the community," said Amber Pittman, teacher and student council sponsor. "It fits into our character-building philosophies, and encourages our students to be good leaders and to help others in need".

"It shows character for our school and respect for the community," North Putnam senior Kenny Benge said.

The students at Area 30 are hoping to stock the cupboards at the food pantry and keep them full at least through the holiday season.

"It's cool because we are helping people in the community over the holidays, and it was also fun competing against the other classes to see who could bring in more items," Greencastle senior Ethan Mitchell said.

The panty is open from 9 a.m. Monday through Friday and is located at 9 W. Franklin St. in the Senior Center.

Arrangements can be made to accept donations at other times by calling the Senior Center at 653-8606. They will take messages for the pantry.