By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Well-known author and speaker Stephen Covey once said, “Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
Otsego High School senior Lexi Gross is doing just that.
When she noticed a large amount of fresh fruit being thrown out in the school cafeteria each day, it bothered Gross. So she came up with an idea: Why not donate the fruit—which had nothing wrong with it—to Christian Neighbors for use in its food pantry?
Thus was born the “Share Table,” which results in an average of more than 100 pounds of fruit each week being delivered to Christian Neighbors.
Gross started the Share Table through her involvement with the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, a volunteer group that meets regularly with Otsego Public Schools superintendent Jeff Haase.
“When I was a freshman, I joined the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, which was a new group at the time,” Gross said. “I’ve been active with the group all four years of high school, and this year I am co-president.”
The purpose of the group, according to Gross, is “to make (Otsego High School) a better place by sharing the students’ perspective and voice.”
“We’re encouraged to have ideas, and we’ve learned that an idea is just an idea until you put some work behind it to implement the change,” Gross said.
So, Gross took her concerns about the wasted fruit to Haase during one of the meetings.
At first, Gross suggested that students simply being allowed to say “no thank you” to the fruit as a way to avoid wasting it.
Haase suggested that Gross take her concerns to the school’s food-service staff. That’s when Gross discovered that not taking the fruit wasn’t an option.
“I learned the Michigan School Meals program, which funds the free lunch program, requires that fresh fruit or a vegetable be provided with each student lunch,” she said. “But I continued to see large amounts of fruit in the garbage and began to brainstorm ways to get the fruit into the hands of people who need it.”
Working with the staff of food service, Gross formulated the idea for the Share Table.
The concept was simple: if students didn’t eat their fruit for the day, they could place it in a basket on the Share Table rather than in the trash can.
OPS Director of Communications Holly McCaw helped Gross spread the word about the Share Table and its mission.
“The idea has been embraced by everyone,” Gross said.
Two or three times a week, Gross delivers the food to Christian Neighbors. The total weekly weight ranges from 115 to 150 pounds.
Gross is proud of what the students have accomplished so far.
“The Share Table is just getting started, but I’m excited about sharing that food with people in need,” she said. “I’m thankful to go to school where the superintendent cares about the students enough to encourage and empower them, and where the food service staff, students and administration were all willing to help.”
