Wafts of roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, sides of vegetables and steaming hot, savory pies will benefit the area hungry this holiday season thanks to the students and staff at Melissa High School and Melissa ISD.

The drive was led by the school Interact Club to support those in need during the holiday season. Due to an area of need in the community, the Melissa food pantry reached out to Melissa High School staff and students to support those in need during this season. 

Students ran a food drive Nov. 1 to Nov. 15. This year’s Interact club advisor, Lisa Hall, took charge of the drive, along with Interact Club President Sam Whitten.

More than 10,000 cans and Melissa Middle School donated approximately 5,300 and our school added in roughly 2,600 to the count. This food will help 100 families in the Christmas Angel Program and stock the Melissa Community Outreach.

“I think the most important thing about the canned food drive is that the Melissa food pantry reached out to all of the Melissa Schools because they are so low on the stock,” Interact Club Advisor Lisa Hall said.

“They need us to be refilling the food pantry in order to have enough food for residents over the next few months.”

Last year during the drive, the school was able to raise many cans of food items for the local pantry, providing meals for homeless youth all over Collin County.

“[The drive] is so important because it goes to our pantry,” Hall said. “Which benefits the whole city. It could [go to] some of the kid’s parents or families that live here in Melissa.”