Youth need a place to go on their free time. People need food during the holiday season.

Can both problems be solved at the same time?

Stephanie Oswald thinks so.

According to Oswald, an Edmundite Mission Corps volunteer who works at the Claude C. Brown YMCA, a canned food drive will take place at the Honeycomb Hideout, a teen-age nightspot, on Dec. 18 at 9:30 p.m. Instead of paying a cover charge, youth will be able to buy their entry with three canned goods.

Each additional canned good will put the giver into a drawing for a door prize.

They can carry canned goods instead.

Oswald said the canned goods would go to the food bank where they will then be distributed to various agencies such as the Catholic Social Ministry, the Cahaba Mental Health Center and the Department of Human Resources.

Lydia Chatman, co-owner of the Honeycomb Hideout along with Josef Jackson, said she started the nightspot in response to the need for teen-agers to have a safe place to go.

Chatman noted that the nightspot caters to older teen-agers. People wanting to go to the canned food drive dance must present a high school identification card. She emphasized that no alcohol is served, sold or tolerated on the premises.

To cover the cost of the dance, Oswald needs businesses and organizations to sponsor an hour of the dance. Each hour costs $30, and an item to be awarded as a door prize. Sponsors will have their name on all publicity materials including fliers and radio advertisements. Sponsors’ names will also be mentioned during their hour of sponsorship at the dance. &uot;I’ve got two definite sponsors now, but I’m confident people will sponsor this dance,&uot; Oswald said.

Oswald can be reached at 875-9914.

The Honeycomb Hideout is located at 7 U.S. Highway 80 East in the old Sorepo building. It can be reached from Selma by crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge and turning left at the first opportunity.