Today through Saturday, Nov. 30, University of Utah alumni and students will do their part to fight hunger in our state by mobilizing the community to participate in the annual University of Utah Food Drive, collecting food and donations on behalf of the Utah Food Bank. What started out 20 years ago as a small event, consisting of collecting cans of food at a football game, has evolved into a major holiday effort. Last year’s drive collected 402,000 pounds of food and raised more than $85,000 in monetary contributions.

About 472,000 Utahns risk missing a meal every day, and one in five Utah children is unsure where they will get their next meal. Students and alumni at the University of Utah have long been committed to doing their part to improve these sobering statistics. To commemorate the 20th anniversary, organizers are asking community members to donate $20 to the Utah Food Bank or purchase $20 worth of nonperishable food items to donate.

“Please join us this year as we celebrate 20 years of successful University-led food drives,” says Julie Barrett, chair of the U Alumni Association’s Community Service Committee. “Twenty dollars from each of us will send a strong message of commitment to our community and to those who need our help. No one does it better than the University of Utah and their alumni!”

Monetary donations can be made online at www.alumni.utah.edu/fooddrive, by texting the word “Utah” to 50555 to make a gift that will appear on your cell phone bill, or by mailing a check payable to the Utah Food Bank to: University of Utah Food Drive, University of Utah Alumni Association, 155 S. Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. Food donations can be brought to one of the following locations:

• Utah Food Bank, 3150 S. 900 West. Please indicate that the donation is part of the University of Utah Food Drive.
• University of Utah Alumni House, 155 S. Central Campus Drive
• LDS Institute of Religion, adjacent to the University of Utah, 1780 E. South Campus Drive

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION:

            The Alumni Association is dedicated to forging and preserving life-long relationships with alumni, students and the community. More about membership, news and events is available online at http://www.alumni.utah.edu.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH:

            The University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City in the foothills of the Wasatch Range, is the flagship institution of higher learning in Utah. Founded in 1850, it serves more than 32,000 students from across the United States and the world. With more than 100 major subjects at the undergraduate level and more than 90 major fields of study at the graduate level, including law and medicine, the University prepares students to live and compete in the global workplace. Learn more about all the U has to offer, online at http://www.utah.edu.