CORE team collects canned food, surpasses goal

Brandon Vargas ’20, Copy Editor
January 10, 2020

On a cold, rainy afternoon just days before Thanksgiving, Riordan’s CORE Service Team loaded a van with 1,057 canned foods.

Representatives of the group headed to St. Vincent De Paul’s Pantry at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Potrero Hill, where they delivered the food generously donated by the Riordan community.

The Food Drive takes place in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, and students and staff are encouraged to bring in such items as jerky, ramen/ noodles, beans, and other non- perishable canned foods.

With the second half of the first semester being so busy for students, the CORE Team initially had some trouble getting the drive up and running.

“We have had a lot of setbacks,” said Daniel Reburiano ’21. “A lot of us have a lot of commitments.”

The CORE Team aimed to reach a high goal when first discussing the drive. “We think it’s going to hit the same numbers [as last year],” said CORE Team co-moderator Julia Stricker-Balistreri. They projected to receive around 1,000 cans, a goal surpassing the previous year’s collection of 888 items.

Furthermore, Stricker- Balistreri admits that the drive was initially difficult to organize: “They changed how Campus Ministry is set up… Figuring out how to centralize the drive has been difficult.” As a result of the initial confusion in the first week of the drive, it looked as if the CORE Team would not reach their goal of 1,000 cans.

Toward the end of the drive, however, Campus Ministry started to become filled with non-perishable food. The Food Drive suddenly became more momentous for the CORE Team. On the final day of the drive, the CORE Team gathered together in Campus Ministry to count and organize the food. Members were split up into four groups, one for each house, to count the food. The House of Cana came in first place with 420 items, Bolts in second with 344, Pilar in third with 209, and Russi in last with 84 goods. Counting proved to be not much of a hassle, and everyone was proud of the work they did to amass 1,057 food items.

For any given drive to be successful, CORE members must fully participate in the preparation and execution of the drive. Jordan Maralit ’21 said that success of a drive is dependent on “Everyone trying to do their part” and “Getting the word out and showing support for the drive.”

Maralit, one of the leaders of the drive itself, admitted that it could be challenging to lead a drive. “I have to stay on task and focused on the main goal,” he stated. “That’s what we should all do as leaders.”