The focal point of SAL’s first semester is our national Food Fight Against Hunger. SAL chapters across the country compete to see who can collect the most non-perishable food items which are donated to a local food bank. This project is a great way to serve the people in your own community. Think those around you aren’t starving? Think again. In a survey by the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, 20% of students at four year universities faced food insecurity. What is hunger and what can you easily do to help?
The hunger SAL is fighting to end is chronic. These are the people around you who are not receiving proper nutrition or enough calories to be healthy. They are unsure where the next meal will come from or if it will come at all. They can’t afford a campus meal plan or takeout from a local restaurant. Many facing chronic hunger are children who have no control over their circumstance, but you can help them feel the pains of hunger less often.
The first step a SAL member can take is to join the Food Fight Against Hunger. Chapters worked throughout the fall semester to collect as many items as possible by bringing them to chapter meetings, tabling outside of grocery stores, holding restaurant percentage nights to fundraise, or hosting movie nights or other events where the admission cost was food items.
Below are the totals our chapters have reported to us this semester, with the top chapter in bold as the winner for that category!
Small Chapter Category (less than 150 members)
El Centro College – 600 items
Purdue University – 434 items
Indiana State University – 426 items
East Carolina University – 245 items
University of Wisconsin Whitewater – 138 items
Boston University – 103 items
Virginia Tech – 81 items
Florida International University – 59 items
Medium Chapter Category (150-250 members)
New Mexico State University – 1028 items
University of North Carolina Greensboro – 397 items
Kansas State University – 350 items
Texas A&M University – 185 items
University of Alabama Birmingham – 46 items
Eastern Michigan University – 33 items
Binghamton University – 29 items
James Madison University – 20 items
University of Louisville – 8 items
Large Chapter Category (over 250 members)
University of Louisiana Lafayette – 212 items
Mississippi State University – 136 items
Colorado State University – 135 items
Clemson University – 111 items
University of Texas Arlington – 102 items
Rowan University – 81 items
Appalachian State University – 57 items
Fundraising Category
Indiana State University – $586.21
Florida International University – $145
Grand Valley State University – $100
East Carolina University – $84
Eastern Michigan University – $70
University of North Carolina Greensboro – $55
San Diego State University – $50
Binghamton University – $31
If you want to take the fight against hunger to the next level, there are many ways to use your passion and talents. Do you like to cook? Find a soup kitchen by clicking here and volunteer to cook meals to guests. If driving is your thing, click here to visit Meals on Wheels and see how you can deliver meals to senior citizens. Are you trying to earn the President’s Volunteer Service Award? You can regularly volunteer at your local food bank (click here to locate one near you). You may be asked to help screen applicants, sort items, or bag well-balanced meals for individuals and families. If you enjoy organizing and entrepreneurship, you could start a campus food pantry at your school.
There is no one way to end hunger, but every person can do one thing to fight it. We want to thank the chapters above for all they did to help reach for this goal in their communities!
