Last week the Second Harvest Food Bank kicked off the “Harvest food drive” and my immediate reaction is why? Why choose to run a food drive this late in the semester? It doesn’t make sense, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday taking place right in the middle of the two week period that the food drive will be running.

Consider for a moment the length that the food drive will be running, from Nov. 20 to Dec. 4, a two week period in which clubs will have the chance to gather canned goods. The food drive is meant to benefit the poor and by all means, I have nothing against it; however, I do have to question the timing, which is, in my opinion, lousy.

Of these two weeks, three days is taken up by the Thanksgiving holiday, the Saturday in which the food drive kicks off is a school day, but few students will be on campus and I doubt any club wasted their limited resources on putting out their bins on that day.

So why did they decide to run it during this time and not sooner in the semester and for a longer period of time? No reason comes to mind that could justify running the food drive this late in the semester. Objectively looking at the timing of the event itself, it appears that they aren’t even trying.

In a way, the timing does make sense, as it is meant to take advantage of the fact that Thanksgiving is here and people should be in a more giving mood, what with Black Friday and other holiday shopping happening during this period. That being said, it still cuts into the length the food drive will run.

Overall, it is a risk that they are taking and one that does make sense when you consider it; however, it still does not change the facts. There was no advertising done for the food drive so that students and facility know that it is taking place, on top of the bad timing, just makes the situation worse.

This makes it appear that the food drive isn’t well planned. I only hope for the sake of the food drive that I’m wrong and it is successful.