Editor’s note: The food drive has been canceled due to the partial closure of the Forest Park campus due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
By Markell Tompkins
The Scene staff
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many Forest Park students to lose their jobs or see their work hours cut.
That’s one of the reasons a food drive is being planned this month by employees in Academic Success and Tutoring, Campus Life and the Student Assistance Program.
The main organizer is Kathy Boykin, 50, administrative assistant in the tutoring center. She noted that some students won’t be able to spend the holidays with their families this year.
“They can’t be around their elder relatives, or they’re going to be eating alone,” she said. “They have a fear that they might catch (the coronavirus) or they might spread it.”
The food drive will run through Nov. 20. Decorated tables with bins are located at the entrance to the Forest Park library and in the Highlander Lounge.
People can donate canned vegetables, coffee, stuffing, rice, mac and cheese, muffins, bread, jam or jelly, pasta and other items, according to a flier.
“I think it’s an excellent idea because a lot of (students) have lost jobs, and they’re trying to get an education, so something has to suffer,” said Leonor Buchanan, 69, a tutor who specializes in reading and study skills.
Buchanan pointed out that some students may not have money to buy food during the holiday season, which is normally a time for celebrating and being thankful.
“Food is part of our celebrations always, and we love to eat,” she said. “I think it’s a good idea for those of us who have (the means). … We may not have everything we need, but we’re willing to share.”
In conjunction with the food drive, the St. Louis Community College Foundation plans to buy turkeys that will be distributed to needy students.
Tobias Knoll, 51, a tutor in the Forest Park writing center, thinks the food drive is an “awesome” way to help students who are suffering financially.
At the COVID drive-thru food distribution sites in St. Louis “they throw a box in your trunk,” he said.
“But a lot of students who come to a community college don’t have cars and take public transportation.”
At the end of the food drive, packages will be distributed to needy students identified through the Student Assistance Program.
For more information, contact Boykin at 314-644-9267 or Tamala Turner, coordinator of the Student Assistance Program, at 314-644-9027.
Holiday food drive
Where: Library entrance and Highlander Lounge
When: Through Nov. 20
Needed: Canned vegetables, coffee, stuffing, rice, mac and cheese, muffins, bread, jam or jelly, pasta and other items
More information: Contact Kathy Boykin at 314-644-9267 or Tamala Turner at 314-644-9027