FOLLOW-UP STORY
By Blugold Dining and CVPost Staff
Blugold Dining collected 3,087 pounds of nonperishable food and $1,184 in cash during its Nov. 17 Helping Hands Across America food drive on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus.
The eight-hour drive, at the Davies Center, brought contributions from UW-EC students, faculty and staff. The food and cash have been donated to Eau Claire’s Feed My People Food Bank, to benefit many Chippewa Valley residents including senior citizens, single parents, the working poor and the homeless.
This year’s food donations were slightly under last year’s total of 4,280 pounds, but cash contributions were up slightly from the 2014 total of $1,001. Last year’s donations were the equivalent of 7,858 meals.
Seven groups at UWEC took part in the Blugold Dining group challenge for the food drive, combining to collect 237 pounds of food and $424 in cash. The accounting and finance department once again collected the most food and cash per employee, and was rewarded with a $150 catering certificate from Blugold Dining.
More than 14,500 people each month – more than 38% of them children – rely on food from Feed My People programs. Over the past nine years, the Helping Hands Across America food drive has produced 32,443 pounds of food and $3,455 in cash for Feed My People.
“Blugold Dining is committed to raising awareness of hunger – a problem that affects thousands of people right here in our backyard,” said Christian Wise, Blugold Dining Regional District Manager.
Sodexo has been the food service provider for UW-EC since 2002. It employs 105 full-time union staff members and 310 UW-EC and local high school students. Blugold Dining provides food in Davies Center, the Hilltop Center, Haas Fine Arts Center and Centennial Hall, and its catering service supports campus and community events.