TOWAMENCIN- Looking for a way to give back to the community? Food for Friends, a non-profit organization started by North Penn junior Derek Schneider, is a perfect way for you to get involved. 

“Food For Friends is a non profit organization that is based in Montgomery County and we plan events to help people in our community and also in our environment. We plan collection drives to collect food, clothing, hygiene products, toys and other supplies. Also we have a electronic drive planned for the future, “ Schneider described. 

The idea of creating a non-profit came when he saw a problem in the amount of food and wanted to help solve it. 

“My goal was to help people in the community and I know a ton of people who don’t have access to food. When I saw this as a problem in our community I knew that something could be done about it,” Schneider stated.

Food For Friends will host their next community food drive in partnership with the National Honor Society. Those who volunteer will receive five NHS service hours per drive, and all you have to do to participate is sign up on the Sign Up Genius. 

“On Sunday, April 16th from 8am-5pm we are having a collection drive in partnership with NHS at the Montgomery Township Community and Recreation Center. It is a curbside drop off system and all you have to do is drive up and we will take your donations,” Schneider described.

In the near future, Food For Friends can be a club here at North Penn, depending on how successful these food drives are.

“Depending on the success of this event we are hoping to make Food For Friends into a club at North Penn next year, where students can come learn about helping the environment and donating to the community and hopefully learn to plan their own collection drive,” Schneider said.

This upcoming event is not their first rodeo. Food For Friends has been successful in many parts of our community. 

“We’ve done multiple drives at churches and other places of worship and we have also done drives around my neighborhood,” Schneider explained.

 “I have participated in the neighborhood drives and what we do is put flyers in people’s mailboxes and a few days later we go around a collect the food and donate it to Manna on Main Street and my favorite parts about it are making memories and making a difference,” junior Kylie Cooke stated.

To run a non-profit, it takes a group of people to make it happen and ensure things go as planned. 

“I’d like to thank my neighborhood drive coordinators Kylie Cooke,Katie Seo and Claire Drouineau as well as the officers Alar Natesh, Deeya Kantesaria, Kyla Green, and Kate Romano. I would also like to thank Haley Meade for making our partnership possible as well as Mr. Kyle Berger for helping me in the process of making this a club,” Schneider said.

If you would like to find out about future events or just about the organization in general, follow @foodforfriendsmonto on Instagram and the website foodforfriendsmontco.org.