Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) at OHS recently implemented a significant change to those in need in their own community.

    When Madelynn Turner (11) and Morgan Orr (11) learned how many students in the Mehlville School District were considered homeless, they decided to make an impact. They came up with the idea of a food locker, where students and parents are able to take food if needed. They were then joined by Madison Appel (10) and David Genovese (10) for assistance with the design.

    “The idea of the food locker came along when Madelynn and I were talking with Mrs. Daughaday (FCCLA sponsor) about our STAR events for FCCLA,” Orr said.  “We knew we wanted to do something along the lines with kids.”

    They then decided what to build, and according to Turner, “David was very helpful in this stage… he did the blueprints for the locker and built it.” They also researched which foods would be safe and fresh inside of the locker for certain periods of time.

    After contacting different elementary schools in the Mehlville School District, Trautwein Elementary responded with great interest. On March 26, the food locker was installed outside the main entrance to the school.

    “I was really excited because we put a lot of work into it and to see it actually come to life was pretty amazing,” Orr said.

         The students have plans to create food lockers outside of every elementary school in the district. In order to fund the project, they are accepting donations to www.gofundme.com/msdfoodlocker.

    “The project meant a lot to me,” Genovese said. “Seeing the locker outside of the school showed me the opportunity that it’s bringing to the students and made me believe that I have helped a lot of families.”