Local students are doing their part to help make sure there are no empty stomachs in Santa Clarita this weekend. North Park Elementary School will conduct a food drive this week for the temporary homeless shelter, which is planed to be set up in the Centre Pointe Business Park for 100 days starting in early December. “We thought it would be a great opportunity to help them,” said Joy Goff, a parent teacher association volunteer. “They’re very grateful.” Ralph’s supermarket donated 1,000 shopping bags for students to take home and collect food, she said, adding that the Wal-Mart opening in Santa Clarita in January has pledged a donation of $500 worth of food. All of the food collected will be presented to the Community Care Center on Friday. This is not the first time North Park students have done a food drive. Goff said the school has conducted a fall food drive for the last six years for the Santa Clarita Food Pantry, but she said the pantry is so overwhelmed with donations around the holidays the school opted to look for another needy cause. “The kids are so excited about it,” she said. A new resident in the valley, Goff said this is her first year with the PTA, and in addition to gathering the bags of donated food she has been contacting local merchants to request donations and is coordinating the pickup of the donations on Friday.

 

This story can be found in today’s Signal newspaper.