When you lived on campus (or if you still do), you were blessed with the convenience of dining halls – basically an all-you-can-eat buffet, as long as you had enough meal points. If you lived off-campus, you’ve probably had a day or two where you were hardly eating to conserve food because you had to go shopping or you were going home for a break. But could you imagine having to do that all of the time – save all of your food not because you had to go shopping, but because you didn’t know where your next meal was coming from? A Penn State fraternity is trying to stop that from happening in State College.
From now until April 2, Alpha Phi Omega (APO), a co-ed service fraternity on campus, is hosting their annual Feed the Hungry event.
“Feed the Hungry is a food drive co-sponsored by Alpha Phi Omega partnered with Anti-Hunger Games, which is another org on campus whose goal is to end hunger in our local area and connect Penn State students to local families,” says Nicole Palombo, a sophomore dual major in criminology and sociology and a Philanthropy Chair for APO. “The event is a campus-wide food drive, with all donations benefiting the State College Area Food Bank.”
While a lot of us call ourselves “poor college kids,” who already stretch our time thin, it doesn’t take much money, time or effort to donate to this event.
“There are two donation locations in the boxes in the HUB,” says Palombo. “At the main upper entrance the exit leading towards Old Main, and one in the Student Activities office, where donations can be placed.”
There are also boxes in the lobbies of both Atherton and Simmons Halls – but what should you donate?
Palombo says the items most needed are: spaghetti, pasta sauce, cereal, oatmeal, tomato products (diced, stewed, paste, sauce, etc), canned meats (chicken, Spam), sugar (2lb and 4lb containers), mayonnaise, condiments, juice (100%), salad dressing, coffee, tea and hot chocolate.
If you’d like to donate something other than food, the food bank is also looking for: shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and soap.
“The food bank also has specific guidelines for all food donated,” says Polambo. “There are many misconceptions about what foods we distribute and how. We receive many items that we simply cannot use. These include large cans, foods that have passed their ‘Best if used by’ date, opened items and home canned products.”
Want to donate but for whatever reason can’t before the end of the event? No problem!
“If someone would like to donate and is not on campus, or wants to donate after the food drive is over, then they can take their donations directly to the State College Area Food Bank,” Polambo says.
The food bank’s address is 1321 S Atherton St, State College, PA 16801.
If you’re interested in learning about more service events APO does, Polambo says to email aposervicepsu@gmail.com or apophilanthropypsu@gmail.com.
