The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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November 30, 2011

Autry students are on mission

The school’s annual Our Daily Bread Food Drive is under way

By Phyllis Zorn, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID — Despite looming finals and the press of holiday season activities, students at Autry Technology Center are on a mission to prove their team is the best.

The school’s annual Our Daily Bread Food Drive is under way, pitting students in each of the 28 study programs against one another to gather the most food and donations to feed the hungry.

Leave it to a hungry student to know how to gather food. Students will canvas their neighborhoods, talk family and friends into giving and buy some food themselves to donate.

Even Chick-fil-A has been talked into joining the effort. The restaurant will donate half of proceeds 5-8 p.m. Tuesday to Our Daily Bread as part of the Autry’s food drive.

Last year’s food drive brought in 20,000 donations. The top go-getters were the Cosmetology Department in the morning and Automotive Technology Department in the afternoon.

This year, Automotive Technology instructor James Chastain and his students have the goal of gathering that much all by themselves. And, they are eyeing the Cosmetology Department to see if they think they can top them. “If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch,” Chastain said to the other departments.

“If you’re not first, you’re last,” instructor Cyndy Meyer answered on behalf of cosmetology students.

Meanwhile, other programs are looking to sneak up and overtake them both.

“Our annual food drive is one of the biggest community service projects Autry students participate in, and although there is competition among the students to see who can collect the most food, the real winners are always those who benefit from the donations,” said Jeremy Eaton, director of student activities at Autry.

Collection counts for each classroom are kept secret until the final day of the two-week campaign.

“We are proud of our students and feel that teaching them to give back to their community is an important part of what we teach at Autry,” Eaton said. “Not only do we offer excellent job training and career opportunities, we are helping to prepare students to share their successes to benefit the entire community.”

Autry students, with their student IDs, might show up at your door collecting food. Anyone interested in dropping off a donation can take it to 1201 W. Willow or call 242-2750 to arrange a pick-up.

Our Daily Bread served more than 70,000 meals last year.

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