Last month’s Oregon State University Food Drive raised the equivalent of 633,795 pounds of food,  beating last year’s total and continuing the university’s track record of raising more each year than any other state university during the Governor’s State Employee Food Drive. On March 20, food drive organizers from various units gathered at the Eena Haws Long House to celebrate their efforts and another successful campaign.

“You are raising awareness on campus that food insecurity is still with us, and that we can all play a role,” said OSU Events director Shelly Signs, who led this year’s Food Drive. More than 60 OSU colleges, departments, divisions, offices and business units participated in the food drive, holding more than 75 activities, ranging from Bingo to a peanut butter and jelly bar.

“These activities have a direct impact on students who experience food insecurity,” OSU President Ed Ray told the organizers.  Last year alone, the OSU food bank distributed 83,000 pounds of food, or an estimated 63,000 meals for members of the community.

Ryan McCambridge with Linn-Benton Food Share said the drive is about more than just raising money and food, but also about providing the Food Share with the means to provide support and smiles to local residents in need. He quoted Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers), who said, “From the time you were very little, you've had people who have smiled you into smiling, people who have talked you into talking, sung you into singing, loved you into loving.” McCambridge said those moments happen every day at the food pantry.

“What you’re funding is for that smile to happen,” he said.

The following is a list of winners of the food drive competition, by team:

Off Campus

Third Place: Tillamook County Extension and Open Campus

1516 meals.

Second Place: Wallowa County Extension

2273 meals.

First Place: Hatfield Marine Science Center

3302 meals.


Student Organizations
Third Place:  Vietnamese Student Association
89 meals. 

Second Place: Naval Science Beaver Battalion

1530 meals.

First Place: Honors College Student Association

5111 meals. 

Team 1: 1-20 Employees

Third Place: Extension and Experiment Station Communications

3620 meals.

Second Place: BEE – Biological & Ecological Engineering

5769 meals.

First Place: 6th floor Kerr

9149 meals.


Team 2: 21-50 Employees
Third Place: AMBC - Agricultural Sciences and Marine Sciences Business Center

5898 meals. 
Second Place: School of Public Policy (Sociology, Economics, and Political Science)

6666 meals.

First Place: University Relations and Marketing

8584 meals.

Team 3: 51-100 Employees
Third Place: Student Health Services

5422 meals. 
Second Place: School of Language, Culture and Society

5655 meals.

First Place: Botany and Plant Pathology

26,828 meals.

Team 4: 101+ Employees
Third Place: Crop and Soil Science

30,555 meals. 
Second Place: Foundation and OSUAA

44,973 meals.

First Place: College of Forestry

45,803 meals.

For photos see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/albums/72157679458069108

 

 

 

 

March 20, 2019