By Trinity Tunby, Stentorian Editor-in-Chief
The time has come once again: students Tess Crumpton ‘26 and Jay Weaver ‘26 have inherited the legacy of the illustrious NCSSM Food Drive. This event has been shaped into a spectacle ever since March 5th, 2011—the day that NCSSM, after assembling the largest food drive held within a calendar day, became a Guinness World Record recipient. Boasting a collection of 559,885 pounds of food in a mere 18 hours, the landmark drive has nestled itself into headlines and proudly perches on the school website. Coverage in recent years, however, has faded among nominal collection averages and suffering involvement. The greatest concern reveals these numbers are also proportionally smaller than they appear, as food insecurity across the globe persists in shattering records each year.
This year, Crumpton and Weaver believe things will be different. The pair have held consistent meetings welcome to every member of the NCSSM community at any time; To them, there are no leaders. One essential component of their planning has involved scrutinizing the success of 2011, which even involved speaking with one of the student leaders, Ryan O’Donnell ‘11. The interview boiled down to three key elements for success: awareness, audacity, and passion.
In conversation with O’Donnell, the magnitude of the problem was acutely emphasized. “The problem of food [in]security has gotten worse. Food drive donations have decreased while food needs have increased,” he said. The majority of the population is sorely unaware of what lies at stake, and many of us sit oblivious to the effects on our own communities.
According to Feeding America, the food insecure population of North Carolina has surged upwards of 1,627,360 people throughout all 100 counties. The Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC has reported a population of 560,000 food insecure people throughout their 34 serviced counties alone—and this number was with an increase of 111,000 individuals from the year prior. Combatting food insecurity cannot be reduced to knowledge of a general hunger problem. Activism begins with understanding how crucial our aid is becoming; it is the very source upon which starving communities have been forced into reliance.
Why has this issue become our responsibility? Even after recovery following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Helene, North Carolinians continue to lack critical federal and state support. According to Feeding America, 2 out of 5 food insecure individuals are unlikely to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to cutbacks in funding. There is very little effectual support outside of these efforts, and thus our communities have been called into action.
How do we address this problem, contained within our modest campus community? We don’t. We manage everything at our disposal to reach those beyond ourselves. In reference to his previous statement, O’Donnell affirmed, “This is urgent. It is okay to be bold and obnoxious to feed hungry people.” Change often begins small, but audacity is essential to witnessing large-scale change.
Until researching this article, I assumed the success of the NCSSM Food Drive to have remained consistent, and thus, I perceived my help as inconsequential. The problem may be that the NCSSM community doesn’t know the scale to which it has tapered off, either. For instance, what were those “nominal collection averages” I cited earlier? The annual food drive has received an average of only 10,000 to 12,000 pounds of food in recent years. While still benefitting many, that is at most a 98% decline in collections since 2011. Something needs to be done. We need to be passionate.
Hunger is greater than NCSSM. Hunger is greater than our state. But small changes lead to big changes, and in some cases, to major headlines and world records. Even without monetary means, there will always be a way to contribute: attend meetings, approach family and friends, and volunteer. If tempted to opt out of PFM food and doordash, why not instead make a donation? Our attention should be focused on making our voices heard, advocating for more support, and reminding ourselves of the immense suffering that provoked our passion. As food insecurity has become a wildfire, our aid has become a subtle flicker. In the words of O’Donnell, “Don’t let the spark die.”
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