Helping Hands Food Drive Hoping to Collect 78,000 Pounds of Nonperishables

The bar has been set even higher this year following the previous record-breaking Helping Hands Food Drive collection – 78,000 pounds.
The University of Findlay, in partnership with its dining service, Sodexo, will host the annual event on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
Nonperishable food will be collected from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations: Kroger at 1996 Tiffin Ave. and 101 6^th St.; Walmart Supercenter at 1161 Trenton Ave. and 2500 Tiffin Ave.; and on campus in front of the Alumni Memorial Union on Frazer Street.
To count toward the goal, all food must be within the expiration date and must not be damaged. Each item will be recorded in a logbook and witnessed by community and University representatives. Only food items collected on Nov. 1 will count toward the goal.
Every item that UF and Sodexo collect will be donated to Findlay’s CHOPIN Hall, a faith-based food pantry that is the primary provider of food for needy community members. The agency provides 4-5 days’ worth of food in addition to items such as diapers for children. It also provides new school supplies to hundreds of area children, and free prom dresses to high school students.
This year’s top five food items needed are peanut butter, canned pasta with meat, canned fruit, canned soup and juices.
Last year’s drive, which marked the 11^th anniversary, collected 74,446 pounds, which exceeded its 65,000-pound goal and represented the most collected of any other Sodexo-affiliated university in the country.
During the 2016 food drive, a total of 188 people volunteered more than 430 hours of their time to make the event a success.
For additional information on how you can support the event, contact David P. Harr, director of dining services at 419-434-4542.