A food drive sponsored by the John Lennon Society will start Monday. All donations will go to the DeKalb Area Food Pantry, operated by the First Methodist Church in DeKalb. The pantry provides an emergency grocery provision service to needy individuals and families.

Normally, the food pantry would be able to give one bag of groceries per month to each family, but the number of needy families using the pantry has tripled this year. Each of the 150 needy families who currently utilize the food pantry’s services receives one bag of groceries every three months.

With Thanksgiving only two weeks away and Christmas just around the corner, those who are fortunate enough not to go to bed hungry at night should open their hearts to those less fortunate. It’s very easy to donate to a food drive, and doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Students who wish to help needy DeKalb families can donate either money or canned and dried goods, such as soups, vegetables and powdered milk. But because the food pantry can purchase bulk food for 10 cents per pound, it might be best to donate money and allow the pantry to purchase items at this reduced rate.

Consider that the cost of one imported beer will purchase 15 pounds of food for a needy family. Or every student on campus could forego one can of pop and donate the 50 cents to the food drive. That’s about 22,000 students, multiplied by 50 cents, which comes out to $11,000, or 110,000 pounds of food.

That definitely comes out to more than one bag of groceries per family every three months. And it’s obvious more than that is needed.

Members of the JLS have expressed concern that some students won’t want to take part in the food drive because of animosity against the JLS. Member John Potwora said if the JLS’ connection to the drive prevents people from donating to the needy, “there’s something wrong with this campus.”

e’s absolutely right.

Poverty knows no boundaries, political or otherwise. The issue of hunger in this country is not a question of liberal thinking versus conservative thinking. It’s a question of people—what their needs are and what their responsibilities are to one another.

emember, that’s Monday. In the Student Association office on the second floor of the Holmes Student Center or a special table outside the Blackhawk Cafeteria. And it will only cost the price of one can of Coke.