ENGLEWOOD — Englewood City Council member Scott Reddin gave a speech to the Bergen Family Center’s Youth in Action program. He explained that the Englewood community is facing hunger in numbers it hasn’t seen before. The Youth in Action members decided to do something.
They devised a special Thanksgiving food drive in front of Zeytinia’s market on West Palisades Avenue Nov. 24. The students ranged from 11 to 15 years old and they came from all different schools in Englewood.
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Staff photo by Joe Camporeale
Beth Krugman of Englewood, right, donates to a food drive at Zeytinia organized by Youth in Action. Students ages 11 to 15 stood outside the food market asking patrons to give food items for the hungry Nov. 24.
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The group congregated outside Zeytinia to ask patrons to consider picking up an extra food item or two and place it in the donation boxes located at the registers.
Ben Russell goes to Elizabeth Morrow School. "I joined Youth in Action because I wanted to help the community. This is a program that helps one step at a time," said Russell.
Zeytenia, a fine foods market, may seem like a curious location to hold a food drive. One might think that a more reasonable food store would bring more donations. Even though the ShopRite in Englewood agreed to host Youth in Action, Treeco, the area’s land developer said no because the site already sees too much soliciting.
Zeytenia’s owners, Armand and Muza, welcomed the idea with open arms. "We like to do things for the community. It was so easy for us to be part of this event. We like to see other people eat especially during these hard times. We have even agreed to leave the basket at the register for a few extra days," said Muza.
Bovanna Phillips mentioned some other projects that Youth in Action is working on. One is a Photojournal in which students are taking pictures of Englewood to shed light on the city’s history and way of life. The group is also planning a Diversity Day in May, which will celebrate the different cultures and ethnicities that make up Englewood.
"I’m an original member of Youth in Action," said Phillips. "It was a good experience of informing people about what kids are doing to help Englewood. Some kids think helping the community is corny, but they have to come to our meetings to understand the full effect of our projects"
Youth in Action also helps to bring these young volunteers together. "Our members have all different customs and economic backgrounds, but we have the same ideas. I would have never known there was this many kids who wanted to aid the community," said Russell.
