UF Helping Hands Food Drive Increasing Collection Goal
Can University of Findlay’s Helping Hands’ Food Drive top its own sky-high 2018 collection, which reached a whopping 111,436 pounds? Organizers have optimistically set this year’s goal at 115,000 pounds.
The 14th annual event, organized by Sodexo, will be held for 12 hours on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Nonperishable food, such as peanut butter and canned vegetables, which haven’t passed their expiration dates, will be collected.
Nonperishable food collection sites will operate on campus, where drive-up and drop-off sites will be set up at the Alumni Memorial Union and Henderson Dining Hall, both on Frazer Street, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Off-campus collections can be made at both Walmarts on Tiffin and Trenton avenues from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Garner Trucking, Inc. will transport the food to CHOPIN Hall, a Findlay nonprofit that serves people within the region. In 2018, the organization served 30,796 individuals. Last year’s Helping Hands drive provided an approximate 4-month food supply for the hall.
Since 2008, the University of Findlay has led the nation every year with the most pounds collected for Sodexo’s drive. The campus community annually supports the event in a big way by volunteering at collection sites, counting and sorting donations, and competing for the most donations; last year’s winners for the most donated were the Buford Center for Diversity and Service staff, who dropped off 9,962 pounds. Other businesses and organizations also generously contribute. For instance, in 2018, Garner Trucking, Campbells Soup Company, and Walmart were some of the most prolific givers.