During the month of October, Columbia residents were sure to see gold-clad students eagerly collecting cans and spare change for a good cause.
The 2014 Tigers Taming Hunger food drive, an annual Homecoming event, inspired MU students to set out in force to collect donations in front of local grocery stores.
The food drive’s preliminary results so far are 31, 286 pounds of food, and $4,268.06 in monetary donations.
The proceeds, both food-based and monetary, will go to the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, a warehouse and distribution center to 32 counties in Missouri.
“Hunger is such an ongoing battle that it takes a community helping their neighbors to win,” said Michael Yetman, the food and fund coordinator for the food bank. “Whether it’s one dollar or one million dollars, every donation is a life-changing opportunity.”
Many student organizations, including Greek Life fraternity and sorority pairings, residential halls, Alpha Kappa Psi and other campus organizations participated.
This year’s Homecoming food drive expanded the number of locations where students collected food donations, said TaMarco Davis, a member of the Homecoming Steering Committee.
Student volunteers traveled to collect donations at two local Hy-Vees, two Walmarts, one Sam’s Club and several Gerbes locations.
In order to attract more donors, Greek Life volunteers held creative signs and poster boards that included their homecoming pairings, the homecoming theme “Celebrating Our Stripes” and the name of the food bank, Davis said.
The participating student organizations were awarded spirit points for the most creativity in their signs to encourage enthusiastic participation. Some even showed up with full banners.
Before entering the store, students offered patrons a slip of paper describing the food bank’s most requested food items, said Aly Friend, coordinator of student programs for the Mizzou Alumni Association.
This method makes it very easy for shoppers to donate, she said.
They have the chance to add a couple extra items to their shopping list without having to go out of their way.
The food bank encouraged donations of canned items since they have the longest shelf life.
The patrons then had the option to purchase those items and donate at the end of their shopping trip or leave a monetary donation.
Monetary donations make up 92 percent of the funding that comes from donors. A simple donation of $10 provides 150 pounds of food, according to the food bank’s website.
Donations collected at the Tigers Taming Hunger Homecoming food drive, however, will stay in Boone County, where there are an average of 18,000 people served monthly.
One in six people in central and northeast Missouri is food insecure, according to the food bank’s website. One in five children under the age of 18 is food insecure.
The food bank is one of 14 similar food collection and distribution centers across the country. It delivers food to over 130 agency partners including food pantries and shelters.
Annually, the food bank distributes about 28 million pounds of food to about one third of Missouri, according to their website.
“The food is distributed based on the percentage of traffic an agency receives in a given county,” Yetman said.
This isn’t the first time the university has paired with the food bank to fight hunger, he said.
“Nearly every day there is someone or a group from the university in the volunteer room,” Yetman said. “From the football team to faculty members we have seen a non-stop support from the university. Our relationship with the school is both beneficial beyond belief and also shows the willingness of the school to invest in their communities.”
The food drive was open to all students, not just those in specific organizations.
It gave students the opportunity to get excited about interacting with the community, Friend said.
The efforts of all those who volunteered were greatly appreciated by the food bank, Yetman said.
“We look forward to this drive every year and know that Homecoming can be tough to prepare, but we are so happy that they include us in the celebrations,” he said.