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Photo courtesy to @mtfoodpantry

Coppell High School junior Shania Khan and her mother serve food to the homeless in downtown Dallas on March 17. Khan and her mother went to Dallas as part of Khan’s organization, the Mother Teresa Food Pantry.

Coppell High School junior Shania Khan has always wanted to help people. Last summer, she and her mother took the initiative to create the Mother Teresa Food Pantry.

The organization’s mission is to eliminate hunger in Dallas. Volunteers, including Khan and her mother, go to downtown Dallas to help feed low-income families.

“The idea came to us over the summer of this year,” Khan said. “We were inspired by my uncle who recently passed away, and we did it in honor of him because he was just a great person, he volunteered a lot. Before he left, he was like, ‘I want you to continue to do good things and do something to help the community.”

The process itself included paperwork through the state to receive her 501c3 organization status.

Khan, her mother Bharti Shah and CHS junior Besma Kadhim went to downtown Dallas and fed over 300 people.

“I felt amazing and blessed to do this because each and every individual homeless person that comes up to me, they all kind of tell me their story,” Khan said.

The organization has given Shah the opportunity to cook for those who do not have a full three meals a day. The opportunity has opened Shah to see the harsh realities of homelessness.

“When we go, it’s a different kind of experience,” Shah said. “I get speechless. It’s amazing how [the homeless] are waiting for the food, and when I leave, I have that feeling of ‘now they have good food, but how about if they are hungry tonight?’”

Along with volunteering, Khan also participates in extracurricular activities such as KCBY-TV.

“Shania’s organization is something different,” Kadhim said. “You don’t see a lot of 17-year olds going out and starting a non-profit company, especially in junior year of high school. It’s really cool that she took the time to help feed people.”

According to Kadhim, the Mother Teresa Food Pantry is a great way for students to get involved in their community.

“People at Coppell are capable of helping people,” Kadhim said. “They just always forget to or they’re always in their own little bubble.”

In order to fundraise for the organization, Khan sold more than 45 shirts, raising more than $350 to buy food and silverware. With that money, Khan and her mother were able to feed 600 people in two weekends.

Anyone is welcome to volunteer at the Mother Teresa Food Pantry.

“We just try to instill hope in those people, and let them know that we’re there for them,” Khan said.

For people who want more information or are interested in volunteering, they may visit the Mother Teresa Food Pantry website.

Follow Sofía on Twitter at @sofia_i_g