As the holiday season approaches, it’s a great time for our school community to reflect and to act. Across the country, millions of people are struggling to get enough food or find a warm, safe place to sleep.
In 2023, about 13.5% of U.S. households (roughly 18 million households) experienced food insecurity at some point during the year. That means around 47.4 million, including 13.8 million children, lived in households struggling to reliably get access to nutritious food. (USDA). Along with this, homelessness is also rising. In 2024, an average of 771,480 people slept homeless every night. These aren’t just statistics; they represent people. So, instead of taking meals and shelter for granted and not doing anything to help, here are some ways that we can help the community in need.
One of the most important things, and something that we at Oratory have very easy access to, is service drives. We do service drives for the St. Philip Neri club all the time, such as the Thanksgiving food drive or the Halloween candy drive. We are also presented with the opportunity to feed the community every Wednesday by making a loaf of PB & J for the food-insecure. Another thing you can do is donate to food banks or help out at food pantries in your town. This is a great way to help produce mass amounts of food for your community. Through Oratory, you can help at the Salvation Army in Morristown, where we do stuff like package food baskets for families during the holiday seasons, like Thanksgiving. One other thing you can do is simply raise awareness by discussing these issues with your friends or family, and encouraging them to act along with you.
Overall, it is very important to remember that not everybody can afford the things that we sometimes take for granted. Especially during the holiday season, it is very important to do your best to make a difference in our world.
