FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The University of Saint Francis faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends will continue their 11-year fight against food insufficiency in Northeast Indiana by participating in the fourth annual U Can Crush Hunger campaign from October 22 -November 5. Community Harvest Food Bank began U Can Crush Hunger in 2015 as an inter-collegiate food drive, a “friendly competition” among northeast Indiana schools. This year USF, Purdue Fort Wayne, Indiana Tech, Ivy Tech Community College Northeast, and Huntington University will be joined by a new competitor in the Manchester School of Pharmacy. This year’s goal is to collect a total of 55,000 pounds of protein-rich food.
In response to the critical need in area food banks and soup kitchens during tough economic times, USF has had its own fall food drive since 2008. Between 2008 and 2014, USF donated over 210,000 food items (in actual food or monetary equivalents) to help feed those in need. Community Harvest Food Bank officials report that the USF fall drive has historically been the second largest annual collection of food coming into its facility, timed to impact needy families during the holidays.
Since the first U Can Crush Hunger campaign in 2015, the friendly competition among schools has netted over 119,000 pounds of food for hungry families and individuals – and USF has donated nearly 66,000 pounds of that total.
The USF community is already making plans to donate food and money in this effort. Student and employee events are being planned which will inform as well as motivate participation in the challenge. Alumni, trustees and friends are also invited to contribute to USF’s efforts to crush hunger by bringing protein-rich food items in non-glass containers to the North Campus Auditorium foyer at 2702 Spring Street, or by making a monetary donation. Every dollar donated is equivalent to four pounds of food. Checks should be made out to Community Harvest Food Bank, or cash can be given to any USF administrative assistant at the Spring Street campus or the USF Downtown location.
Donations can also be made by going to the Community Harvest Food Bank home page www.chfb.org, choosing USF, and following the prompts. All funds will go directly to Community Harvest Food Bank on USF’s behalf and will be tax-deductible.
For information about U Can Crush Hunger, contact USF campaign coordinator Sister Anita Holzmer, OSF at 260-399-7700, ext. 6705.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. USF Downtown houses the university’s business and music technology programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis campus experience includes 16 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships, and is recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution. Approximately 2,200 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.