Sustain Mizzou’s annual Local Food Drive, a fundraising project that benefits the underprivileged while supporting a more sustainable food system, began Monday.

“There are a few main issues that we want to tackle and bring to light,” Co-Project Leader Lauren Sedlacek said. “We want to alleviate hunger and malnutrition because the people that go to the food pantries don’t have access to these kinds of nutritious foods that we want to provide for them. So with the money we collect from donations, we buy nutritious, fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and meats from local farmers.”

Normally one sees stacks on stacks of donated canned goods on a table, but Sustain Mizzou’s Local Food Drive, created by Jared Cole in 2006 as a capstone project, is different from most food drives.

“We are just collecting monetary donations,” said Abigail Keel, Sustain Mizzou secretary and Maneater staff member. “If people bring us food, we would just donate it back to a food pantry. The point is for us to use the money we raise to buy local, healthy food for people who normally don’t have access to it. We try to buy food that is recognizable and easy to cook. If someone sees some eggplant, they may not know how to cook it. But a tomato or lettuce might be more approachable so we put a lot of thought into what vegetables we buy and when.”

Ultimately, the Local Food Drive consists of two main parts.

“The local food drive is a two-part service project,” Co-Project Leader Caitlin Swatek said. “The first part is where we raise money to buy food from local farmers and the second part is the buying of the food from the local farmers, which will start happening next week.”

Volunteers and Sustain Mizzou members who help with the Local Food Drive are passionate about the work they do.

“My interests are food and public policy, and I know that local foods are good for the environment because they lessen the carbon footprint that comes with food transportation,” Sedlacek said. “It makes so much sense to take this kind of approach in helping our community. We support local farmers economically which makes spending our money around (the Columbia area) worth so much more.”

In recent years, Sustain Mizzou has partnered with various organizations such as the Independent Aggies, Veritas, Wakonse, Mizzou 4-H, the Mizzou Environmental Club, Greeks Going Green and several more, according to the Sustain Mizzou website.

“Other organizations on campus help contribute to our food fund and send volunteers,” Swatek said. “In the past we have raised about $500-$1,500, but it just depends each year.”

The fundraising part of the Sustain Mizzou project is taking place everyday this week in Speakers Circle and outside Memorial Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but donations are also accepted online at the Sustain Mizzou website.

“We don’t have a specific fundraising goal, but it would be nice to beat our sum from last year,” Keel said. “We are also having a benefit concert as part of our Sustainability Week, April 23-27, where the money from the concert will go toward the drive as well, so we are hoping to raise a lot.”