Patrick Henry High clubs find fun way to raise money with latest ‘food frenzy’

What comes to mind when you think of a food frenzy?

For some students at Patrick Henry High School, it means an opportunity to raise funds for clubs on campus. The school is having another of its food frenzies on Thursday.

Of the school’s third year doing food frenzies, ASB and senior class adviser Autumn Ross said, “The purpose is an opportunity for our clubs to fundraise during the school day when the whole student body is there.

“This is a great opportunity for clubs to help fund different types of activities they want to participate in, and also a great chance for students to try some different food items (that aren’t) usually allowed during school day for lunch.”

According to Ross, the entire student body has access to the event, with approximately 10 or so clubs or organizations signing up.

“This is a great opportunity for club officers to brainstorm what type of food items they think their fellow students might want to buy and work on creating budgets for what they are purchasing/what they should sell them at,” Ross said.

Art teacher Abe Shklar said the purpose of the event is a simple fundraising opportunity for clubs, and to provide students with a special day to purchase treats.

“We usually sell out of everything,” Shklar said. “Last food fest, the BSU (Black Student Union) bought 20 pizzas, and we sold out super quickly. The GSA (Genders-Sexualities Alliance) bought like 100 donuts and sold them all as well. Food is pretty cheap (I think donuts were $1 dollar and pizza was $3), so most students can afford at least something.

“Some people go to Costco to get chips and soda, and cookies,” he added. “Some clubs even get food trucks in and take a percentage of their sales.”

According to Shklar, GSA and BSU use the proceeds to help purchase snacks for events/meetings and help cover expenditures for field trips.

One student looking forward to this month’s event is ASB treasurer EJ Jerpseth.

“We do food frenzies because we, as an ASB, want to create as many opportunities as possible for our students,” Jerpseth said. “Giving our clubs on campus support is an important part of building our school community.”

Jerpseth noted that ASB members focus on their ability to help students thrive and have a good experience at Henry.

“For most food frenzies, our best way to help is set up tables and chairs for the clubs and make their fundraising process as simple as possible,” Jerpseth added. “This year, I started giving clubs packets with a pre-made tally sheet, deposit form and revenue analysis so they know what to complete and turn in without having to go to the ASB room and ask.”

If you’re a Patrick Henry High student or staff member, plan on coming to school this Thursday with a hearty appetite. In doing so, you will be helping out the school community.