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U Can Crush Hunger campaign starts

For the sixth year, Community Harvest Food Bank and seven area schools are partnering in a food drive competition to benefit families in northeast Indiana. University of Saint Francis, Indiana Tech, Huntington University, PFW, Manchester University, Ivy Tech Fort Wayne and Warsaw and Trine University are raising food and funds with a goal of collecting 50,000 pounds of food for the holidays.

Sponsors for the event include Two Men and a Truck, Steel Dynamics, Barrett McNagny LLP, Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management, Premier Bank, Aalco Distributing and Blaze Pizza.

Last year, 57,263 pounds of food were collected, which provided 47,700 meals to families experiencing hardship. The University of Saint Francis won the trophy for most food and monetary donations collected in 2019, with a total of 20,529 pounds.

All food donated is weighed, and each dollar donated counts as four pounds toward the winning school’s total. The 2020 U Can Crush Hunger event will run Oct. 26 through Nov. 12. Community members who would like to support their school of choice in this competition can visit www.CHFB.org for more details on how to donate securely online or in person.

“Since its inception in 2015, U Can Crush Hunger has raised more than 217,000 pounds of food,” said Maia Pfeffer, Community Engagement Coordinator, Community Harvest Food Bank. “We look forward to building on last year’s record-breaking momentum as we welcome new competitors Trine University and Ivy Tech Warsaw.”

“Our USF community is already working hard to raise awareness about the hunger suffered by so many brothers and sisters in northeast Indiana, and in a few days we’ll be raising funds to help feed them,” said Sister Anita Holzmer, Assistant Vice President for Mission Integration, University of Saint Francis. “We know that, when we help others receive what is justly theirs, we are making possible the peace for which St. Francis of Assisi prayed, and for which we all long. We wish God’s blessings on our honorable competitors, and we pray that together we can meet or exceed our ambitious, but achievable goal of 50,000 pounds of food in this drive.”

“This year our student organizations are hosting a bracket competition in the style of March Madness, competing to see who can raise the most funds,” said Brian Engelhart, Vice President of University Relations, Indiana Tech. “Our chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers is coordinating outreach to area companies to get them involved on behalf of Indiana Tech. We will also be conducting online outreach, hosting a concert on campus that will be livestreamed to encourage donations. No matter who you support or what school you get behind, make sure you get behind Community Harvest.”

“Huntington University proudly supports Crush Hunger to provide nutritious food to feed families,” said Heather St. Peters, Director for Service & Experiential Learning, Huntington University. “One in five children experiences food scarcity, and that’s a 52 percent increase from 2018.

Over the next two weeks the Forester Family will be collecting food items in a friendly on campus competition called Olympiad. All of our collections will go to Love Inc., a local food pantry in Huntington that serves about 150 families every week. They also provide food bags to middle school and high school students.”

Christopher Douse, Director of Student Success & Engagement, Ivy Tech Fort Wayne shared: “We’re proud of the work our students are doing to support our campus food pantry, Ivy Community Cupboard, an initiative of our Student Governance Association and Service Learning classes.”

Allyn Decker, PhD, Vice Chancellor- Ivy Tech Community College Warsaw, sent a statement that “All food and monetary donations collected at Ivy Tech Warsaw’s main campus and the Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center will benefit Combined Community Services of Kosciusko County.”

“As we all know, food insecurity on our campuses and in our community existed long before COVID-19, but the pandemic has only worsened hunger for so many of our students and our neighbors,” said Krissy Creager, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Purdue University Fort Wayne. “After more than 3,000 visits to our pantry in the 18-19 academic year, we have opened a second pantry in our student housing complex and our pantries on campus receive an average of 383 visits per month. We are fully committed to the U Can Crush Hunger campaign and addressing food insecurity campus-wide and community-wide.

“We have several events lined up for students and community members to donate food, including our Costume BINGO and Monster Mash programs,” said Abagail Van Vlerah, Vice President for Student Life, Manchester University. “We are also partnering with the Office of Religious Life and College of Business Club throughout the competition. U Can Crush Hunger is a friendly competition that has helped us support our Spartan Community with our campus pantry and assisting our local food insecurity programs in our county.”

“Trine University is so excited to be participating in U Can Crush Hunger for the first time this year!” said Clare Danner, Director of Student Leadership, Trine University. “Harnessing the power of our 100+ student organization leaders and compassionate faculty and staff, we are certain that we can contribute to CRUSHING hunger in Northeast Indiana alongside our colleagues at other colleges in the area.”

“Barrett McNagny is honored to be a part of U Can Crush Hunger as a proud supporter of the University of Saint Francis, in partnership with the Community Harvest Food Bank and all of the participating universities,” said Alison Podlaski , Attorney, Barrett McNagny LLP. “We are proud to support this friendly competition that brings our community together to fight against hunger and serve our most vulnerable families.”

“This is our second year being a part of U Can Crush Hunger,” said Caitlyn Laidler, Marketing/Sales Leader, Two Men and a Truck. “Being the ‘Movers Who Care’ is really made simpler when you’re part of a community that cares. We are excited to support another friendly competition between local universities to crush hunger in northeast Indiana.” “It’s been a tough year, but we are hopeful that this friendly competition will continue to increase our resources,” said John Wolf, CEO, Community Harvest Food Bank. “The goal of 50,000 pounds will be very important as we work to meet the demands this time of year. A year ago we gave out 13.8 million pounds, but this year we distributed more than 17.1 million pounds, a substantial increase given the COVID-19 situation. We’re grateful for the support of the universities and Two Men & A Truck to help ensure another successful campaign.”