Heather Bell
Editor
RADFORD – In 2018, Zan Armentrout and Riley Bloomer started a food drive in high school bringing together the Young Republicans and Young Democrats groups at Radford High School to collect food during the holiday season.
The “Bridge” food drive was about bridging the gap between political parties or other differences to do something good for the community.
Armentrout, now employed at the family business, Radford Drug, made the cherished local business the donation point for this year’s food drive with great results.
Armentrout says he and Bloomer hope the annual food drive continues for years to come.
“In collaboration with local businesses like Radford Drug, Pazar, and Radford-Fairlawn Daily Bread [we] hope to lead a yearly, organized community effort to feed those that need it, and build a bridge for our friends and neighbors in Radford and the wider NRV,” he wrote. “The Bridge” represents the bridges we build towards others, despite our differences. Democrats, Republicans, and everyone in between should recognize that food insecurity is not a political issue and should never be weaponized as such. No matter your nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, or citizenship status, you deserve to be fed.”
“This is what the spirit of the bridge is all about – bringing different communities together. “ This year, the organizers invited the community at The Islamic Society of New River Valley – Masjid Al-Ihsan in Blacksburg to participate in the “Bridge” food drive.
“In short time they nearly doubled our efforts towards Radford-Fairlawn Daily Bread and Pazar Radford,” said Armentrout.
“Throughout the month, a member of the Mosque, Ahmad, and I discussed how important it is for us to come together to help our communities, especially when we come from different backgrounds and religions. We also spoke about how similar most people are to each other than many in our country perceive. It was this spirit of unity that drove us to create a bridge between our communities in order to help others.”
“With the help of their congregation, Ahmad and Ismael brought around 100 pounds of canned and boxed food from their Mosque for us to donate to our respective partners in this effort.”
Zan Armentrout (left) and Ahmad and Ismael, members of The Islamic Society of New River Valley – Masjid Al-Ihsan in Blacksburg, with some of the donations collected during “The Bridge” food drive.
