Have you ever wondered why [FREE] food is being given to students at Lincoln?

At Lincoln for the last couple of months, at times there has been an abundant amount of food in the main building just outside the Student Services. The food that is placed there is either close to expiring or already expired. Most of the food donated to the pantry was in a store two days before. It’s not all the same type of food, but a variety: bread, cans of beans, donuts, chips, and even candy have been available to students.

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Box of donuts/bread. (Fernando Serna/Lion Tales)

Office Staff in Student Services, Maria Stanton said, ”There’s someone that donates food to the school whenever he has time that is about to expire so he doesn’t want it to go to waste.”

That someone turned out to be Dr. Ray Umeda. He was a Lincoln graduate and a board member on the Lincoln High School Foundation. Umeda heard there was a need for donated food. He has been doing this since early 2016, when he met a women named Rose who helps with the distribution of the food from local stores and restaurants.

Someone then picks up the food from Umeda’s office and delivers it to Lincoln. While this is happening, Umeda lets Activities Director, Kelly Philips know if he has food ready for pick up. Umeda heard about the award that Kelly Philips won and that is how he heard about the Lincoln pantry. According to Dr. Ray Umeda, “In the U.S., 40% of all food is thrown away… the food is made available on the “sell by” date or earlier when it comes from restaurants. Most bakeries discard bread at the end of the day it is made.”

Some students take some whenever they feel hungry, while some take food just because it’s free. Although, others will take the food back home since they don’t have any. Dr. Ray Umeda, who is bringing in the food, is not just being generous but helping students out. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

When asked about what he got out of this, Dr. Ray Umeda responded, “I am committed to helping Lincoln students succeed. It is such a waste that so much food is discarded. This combines those motivations into an ideal solution. It makes me very happy when I hear that the students are taking the food from the pantry. I hope what I am doing inspires students to help others in need now and in the future.”