MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Students from University High School have teamed up with students from neighboring schools to help those with food insecurity during the holiday season.

The University High Future Farmers of America (FFA) joined fellow students from Monongalia and Preston counties in the making of Thanksgiving-themed giveaway baskets to be given to less fortunate families in their communities. University High FFA Advisor Whitney Lanhart reported that the outreach effort will be one of several community service events that will be hosted over the next couple of months.

“It was another regional event (that the kids did), and we were doing baskets for any community that needs prepared food for Thanksgiving dinner,” said Lanhart.

The baskets will consist of traditional Thanksgiving turkeys as well as produce locally grown in the Mon-Preston area. For baskets made by Monongalia County students, they will be donated to county food banks and community services that offer Thanksgiving meals to those less fortunate in the community. According to Lanhart, this includes stops to Pantry Plus More, the United Way MPC, and local churches that will participate in food giveaways during the Thanksgiving holiday.

“All of our (baskets) are going to be donated to some of our food pantries,” Lanhart said. “We have a list of places we wanted to donate to, but it’s Thanksgiving dinner for families that don’t have that,” she said.

According to Lanhart, students from University High School were joined by Morgantown High School students as well as Preston County High School students, who hosted the Thanksgiving food drive. This is also one of several community events that the University High FFA will participate in where they travel across Monongalia County for events ranging from Veteran’s Day to wreath layings during the holidays.

“They ask us to line dance at the Veteran’s Day dinner at Stewartstown, and we also are looking forward to doing the Wreaths Across America, which honors our veterans by placing wreaths at the (West Virginia) National Cemetery,” Lanhart said.

The University High FFA also plans to continue to participate in community activities throughout the holiday season. This will include stops at WVU Medicine Children’s, local Morgantown area nursing homes, and the hosting of their annual Christmas drive. With plenty of opportunities to meet Monongalia County residents, the University High FFA plans to make every effort possible to have a positive impact during the holiday season.

“Moving ahead through the rest of the year, we’re going to do our annual Christmas drive for our Angel Tree, we do the WVU Children’s Hospital, the nursing homes, and then we’ll do a meal at the Ronald McDonald House,” said Lanahrt. “So we have lots and lots of things coming up,” she said.

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