It may be Halloween, but for high school thespians Jacob Bogart and Samantha Hill, ghosts and goblins aren’t the scariest things in America right now. Not being able to eat is.
“I think it’s important to remember there’s always someone worse off than you,” said Jacob, a senior at Lee’s Summit West High School. “There’s always something you can give.”
That’s why they and other students involved in the International Thespian Society got involved with the Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat Program.
For a few hours on Halloween night, drama students across the country go door to door collecting cans for local food pantries.
“We have a great time on Halloween,” said Samantha, also a senior at Lee’s Summit West High School. “You get together with five or six of your best friends in your car and you drive around and you’re running from house to house. it’s just like we’re trick or treating only our candy is canned goods.”
Last year Lee’s Summit high schools collected over 10,000 pounds of food, more than any other district in the nation. This year they hope to do it again with their “Five Tons for Families” goal.
“If everybody donates a can, that’s an awful lot of food; and that’s an awful lot of kids that get fed through Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat,” said Samantha.
Last year, more than 320 thespian troupes from throughout the country collected more than 350,000 pounds of food.
“There’s that one can of soup you’re not going to eat or the can of beans that’s been there for months. If you really try there’s always something more you can give,” said Jacob.