Food drive helps local charity
The second annual Local Food Drive will end Saturday after a weeklong collection. Participants dressed as a fried egg, carrot and apple are collecting money that will be used to purchase fresh produce for the Central Missouri Food Bank.
Published Oct. 7, 2005
A fried egg, a skinny carrot and a tomato have been attracting attention at tables near the fountain outside Brady Commons and outside Memorial Union since Monday by collecting donations to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs for impoverished families through the Central Missouri Food Bank.
"Many families don't have the option to buy or purchase fresh produce," said Rachel Dueber, event coordinator for the Central Missouri Food Bank. "This food drive aims to provide healthy food to these families."
Jared Cole, the Local Food Drive coordinator for Sustain Mizzou, said 75 percent of the Central Missouri Food Bank's clients get fewer than six servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture food pyramid recommends three to five servings per day of each.
If all students and staff gave a quarter, they could raise $9,700 and give every poverty-stricken family in Boone County a pound of fresh food, Cole said.
"It's hard to reach everyone," Cole said.
He said the goal is to raise $2,500. As of Wednesday, they had raised $1,150 and lots of uncounted change.
Cole said the food drive only accepts monetary donations.
"We collect money because you just can't take an apple from someone because by the time it takes to get it to someone it could go bad and you don't know where it came from," Cole said.
Cole said organizers would decide how to use the money so they could buy the freshest produce and eggs throughout the year from local farmers without overloading the food bank with too much of the same foods. Last year, they raised enough money to make donations from November to July.
Most of the produce they donate travels an average of 25 miles, Cole said. By keeping sources local, they can monitor the production methods and get discounted prices. He said last year they bought up the production capacity of some local farmers.
The group tries to purchase foods that can be eaten raw or food that requires simple cooking to save time for people with families.
Eggs, he said, are one of the best donations because they are easy to cook and are high in protein.
Cole said Sustain Mizzou could make their first donation next week.
More than 50 volunteers from Sustain Mizzou, the Missouri Students Association and Students United will put in more than 250 volunteer hours before the drive ends on Saturday, Cole said.
Shannon Jewitt, a volunteer who dressed as an egg, said she volunteered because she saw Cole dressed as an apple last year and "laughed every time she saw him." "It attracts attention to the cause," she said of the costumes. Jewitt also works for The Maneater.
The costumes worked with Sustain Mizzou's small budget and were cheaper than fliers or an MU announcement, Cole said.
"By looking foolish we increase our visibility and everyone thinks about it," Cole said.
Cole said some of the volunteers made up a song-and-dance routine this year to attract more student attention.
The weeklong drive will end Saturday.