Since 1994, the Beat Bama Food Drive benefiting the Food Bank of East Alabama has united students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members in the fight against hunger and poverty in East Alabama. While the University of Alabama and the West Alabama Food Bank are competing against Auburn to see who can collect more non-perishable food to help those in need, the true winners are the recipients of the donations.
This friendly competition has reached beyond the two campuses with nearly 3 million pounds of food donated since its inception.
Caroline Jager, president of the Beat Bama Food Drive, said food is a basic human right and the student body and community have a responsibility to do everything in their power to alleviate food insecurity.
“My hope for Beat Bama Food Drive is that it will cultivate the spirit of the Auburn Creed in the student body by putting other’s needs before our own so that we can help restore happiness, pride, health and dignity into the lives of others,” Jager said.
Last year, Auburn brought home the trophy with 211,625 pounds of food, beating the University of Alabama’s 116,370 pounds.
To donate, members of the Auburn Family can either bring cans to donation barrels located across campus starting Oct. 5 or donate online at http://foodbankofeastalabama.com/donate.html. If interested in becoming a sponsor, email bbfd@auburn.edu.