BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Some students may spend most of their school year figuring out what’s next for them. Sometimes that’s academics, but other times, it’s what they’ll be able to eat that day.
Now, a new student-led initiative in two North Dakota school districts is taking action this month to raise awareness about food insecurity and create meaningful change among their peers and in the broader community.
“Every day I come to school, and I look around at all these people, and I don’t know if they had breakfast that morning,” said Berniece Debertin, a junior at Legacy High helping lead “Bis-Man Gives A Can.”
“One in five children are seen as hungry and not able to access food,” said Kyla Anderson, a Legacy High senior also helping lead the program.
While there are food pantries available, they noticed an increasing food crisis within their community and others as well.
“We were like, ‘Well, how can we get kids involved and also our community?’ So, we came up with Bisman Gives a Can,” said Kyla.
The program is designed to make the schools across Bismarck and Mandan compete against one another.
Two students from each district volunteer to help lead the community-wide food drive.
This is not only meant to make it more enticing for them, but also to give them a chance to lead the way for a change.
“I think a lot of people will say, ‘Well, they’re just students, they’re kids.’ But many public Bismarck school students are getting food access through the schools because they have nowhere else to go,” said Kyla.
“Kids care too. People forget that we have a voice and we can make a difference,” said Berniece.
Their goal is to raise 2,000 items by Oct. 27 and to eventually make this a statewide effort in the next couple of years.
Donations can be dropped off at any participating school.
Participating schools currently include every high school in Bismarck and Mandan, as well as Saint Mary’s and Shiloh.
The districts will donate the collected items to the Great Plains Food Bank.
On Oct. 26 and 27, non-perishable items can be brought to the Bismarck Event Center.
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