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The Love Kitchen is an incredible food kitchen organization in the heart of downtown Knoxville that offers thousands of hungry mouths a home-cooked meal and a place to feel loved. The facility’s motto, “Everybody is God’s somebody,” illustrates the caring nature prevalent in the staff’s hearts. More information about this charity can be found here.
The Love Kitchen Can Drive is hosted every October to November at Farragut High School. Students donate out of the goodness of their hearts and their hope to improve our community. However, students also get an incentive to bring in more cans. First block classes that bring in 400 or more cans are allowed to miss half of the first block on Friday, November 11th to bring all of the cans they have raised down to The Commons and build sculptures. In past years, students have built many things, including can thrones, hearts, eagles, and even puns (e.g. “Cow-culus”). Not only that, the class that raises the most donations will win a FREE Chick-Fil-A breakfast!
Students are not limited to bringing in just cans! We understand that with AP courses, varsity sports, and other clubs, it may prove difficult to find time to head to the store and gather your donation. For this reason, SGA gladly accepts monetary donations too! One dollar is equivalent to two cans. There is an online platform set up as well to donate. The same day in which students build a can structure, SGA officers head out and purchase as many cans as possible from local grocery stores from the generous donations that are collected.
Any donation, no matter how small, is important to our fundraiser. The Love Kitchen was completely empty in the Fall of 2014, and they have been with low supplies the other years our drive has occurred. Each and every can matters to us and the Kitchen; as Christine Whitman says, “Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room”.
MISSION
“Farragut High School SGA has a long tradition of hosting The Love Kitchen Can Drive. Each year, we collect donations, whether it be canned goods themselves or financial donations, to enable The Love Kitchen to continue their endearing impact. Many right here in our Knoxville community cannot access food and rely on the Love Kitchen entirely for their well-being. By purchasing canned cans from the monetary donations, in addition to the cans that were donated, we surmised a total of 21,000 cans this year! A school record! This event embodies the utmost pursuits of SGA: charitability, service, and dedication. And as such, we hold this event in high regard and take pride in the fact that were are making an incredible difference in our community, right here in Knoxville.”
-Kai Thiagarajan, President 2017-2018
CANNED FOOD DRIVE RECORD
2017: 21,000 cans
2018: 22,000 cans
2019: 24,000 cans
2021: 37,000 cans
2022: 33,000 cans
2023: 22,000 cans
2024: 33,000 cans
Thank you so much to all of those that support our canned food drive. We are truly indebted to you and the community. Special thanks to the United Grocery Outlet in Lenoir City, Farragut Primary School, Farragut Intermediate School, Farragut Middle School, Farragut High School, and all of our other supporters.