UMW campus dining partners with athletics and community to stop hunger

University of Mary Washington (UMW) Dining Services by Sodexo, in partnership with the University athletes and community organizations, sponsored their annual Stop Hunger food drive November 2-11 in Fredericksburg, Va.

This year's drive brought in 6,571 pounds of food, which is enough to provide 5,475 meals for people in the Fredericksburg community.

The Stop Hunger drive is sponsored by Sodexo each year at over 600 campuses nation-wide as part of their ongoing effort to help fight hunger in the United States.

Dining Services and UMW athletes have successfully sponsored the food drives together for eleven years. All food collected is donated to the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank to assist local families experiencing food insecurity.

The UMW athletic department also participates in their Capital Area Conference competition to see which college can collect the most food for their community. Last year they were named conference champs.

Athletes tabled at local grocery stores to solicit food and monetary donations from customers and distributed donation bags throughout nearby neighborhoods so that area residents could contribute to the drive. They also turned out in large numbers to help transport the over 3 tons of food collected. UMW Dining Services had donation bins in all of their campus eateries, and many dining guests contributed cash toward the drive.

Local radio stations promoted the event during their broadcasts, and Fredericksburg elementary and middle schools, along with the area YMCA, collected food donations for the drive.

“This year's Stop Hunger food drive at UMW was an ideal example of positive ‘town and gown’ relationships and how strategic partnerships can benefit the local community,” said Rose Benedict, Campus Dining Marketing Manager.

For more information, contact Rose Benedict, University of Mary Washington Dining Services at Rosetta.Benedict@sodexo.com