Duo awarded for their dedication to serve the needy and the poor.
AB Wire
Two Indian American students at the Aliso Niguel High School in Irvine, California, Kalen Patel, 15, and Trishna Patel, who are cousins, got approval to start an official Second Harvest Food Bank Club at their school, which has now 15 members, reported The Orange County Register.
In an interview, Kalen Patel said he first saw someone who was homeless in Las Vegas, at the age of 5. For Trishna Patel, 17, her first memories of seeing people suffering from severe hunger trace back to visits to India as a young child.
As a sixth-grader, Trishna Patel got involved with the Brown Bag Brigade at Chinmaya Mission, a Hindu temple in Tustin. Every Saturday, she and other children would drive to a park in Santa Ana, bringing sacks loaded with sandwiches, fruit and granola bars to distribute to the homeless.
“It was really eye-opening that there were people so close to home that needed food,” said Trishna Patel. “I was shocked. In India you expect it, but you didn’t expect it here.”
Marked by these memories and inspired by volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank every week for the past four years, the cousins decided last summer they wanted to get more teens involved. They presented their idea to start an official Second Harvest Food Bank Club at Aliso Niguel High School to officials at the Irvine-based food bank. It was approved.
The cousins told classmates about a recent study done by Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and Feeding America that shows more than 350,000 people in Orange County need help to feed themselves and their families. They told students that many people often have to make a choice between buying food or paying a bill.
The club that started in October is now at 15 members. Their first food drive was on Halloween. Instead of candy, they collected cans of non-perishables. They hold food and fund drives nearly every month.
The club has collected more than 3,000 pounds of food and by summer will have raised enough money – $2,117 – to sponsor their own Adopt a Pantry, which will bring more than 5,000 pounds of fresh produce and other staple items to an underserved neighborhood, feeding 150 to 200 families, said the Register report.
Club members have also logged more than 200 hours of volunteering at the Second Harvest Food Bank warehouse, the Incredible Edible Farms and the food drives.
Next year, they plan a rally to get more students and teachers involved. Ultimately, they hope to get every high school in Orange County to start their own Second Harvest Food club.
In February, Aliso Niguel High School Principal Deni Christensen introduced the Patel cousins and their group to the Aliso Viejo City Council. They were recognized and awarded with a certificate for their efforts to reach beyond themselves into the broader community.
Kalen and Trishna Patel say it’s Chirag Patel, Kalen’s dad and Trishna’s uncle, who inspired them. Chirag Patel, who has always been deeply moved by the idea of people going hungry, began volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank four years ago.
Chirag Patel, who has a real estate and property management company in Costa Mesa and also founded the India Southern California Hoops League, uses these relationships to get others involved in fighting hunger. Through networking, he has sponsored food drives and Adopt a Pantries. He also got his family involved. Kalen first started packing oranges at the food bank’s Izzy’s Corner and working at the Incredible Edible Farm. Trishna started packing food in the food banks distribution center.
Kalen, who calls himself a math geek and plays the violin, says the last four years have changed him. He sees food differently now. Trishna, who does traditional Indian dance as a hobby, too, has a new outlook on even being a teen.
At family functions and parties, the two often share a plate of food instead of each ordering their own. They eat more healthfully. If they see a friend or family member discarding food, they’ll stop them and remind them of the hunger in the county.
“We need to be really grateful and appreciative and realize we’re really fortunate compared to others,” Trishna Patel said. “As teens, we tend to think a lot about ourselves. Working with Second Harvest has helped us think more about the greater community. We’re not perfect yet but we’re trying to be more grateful.”
Kalen Patel said his experience with the club has changed him.
“It’s changed me as a person,” Kalen Patel said. “I don’t cry and get emotional anymore. I try to put myself into their shoes. I use that emotion to motivate me to do more in the club.”
Read the full story here: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/food-715201-patel-club.html