A total of 4,960 pounds of food and $872 in cash was collected and
donated to the Feed My People Food Bank through a
recent University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire initiative to fight hunger and help
those in need in the Chippewa Valley.
Blugold Dining sponsored
the Helping Hands Across America food drive Nov. 19, at all campus dining
locations. In addition to individual donations, six campus groups collected
more than 400 pounds of food and $515 in cash in response to Blugold Dining's
challenge for group participation. The Putnam Hall Staff
collected the most food per person.
The entire Blugold Dining family was recognized for their dedication
to UW-Eau Claire students and their support of the Helping Hands initiative,
which provides Feed My People Food Bank with one of its largest food drive
donations.
More than 14,500 individuals each month -- 39 percent of them
children -- rely on food received from programs supplied by Feed My People. With
UW-Eau Claire’s donation, Feed My People will be able to provide 7,967 meals to
our neighbors in need.
The nonperishable food items collected on the UW-Eau Claire campus
will help senior citizens, single parents, the working poor, the homeless, the
mentally ill and others in need throughout the Chippewa Valley. For every
dollar donated, Feed My People can obtain and distribute seven pounds of food
worth more than $10. More than six million pounds of food was distributed in
2012 to hunger-relief agencies in 14 counties in west-central Wisconsin.