Alabama Wins Fourth Straight 'Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger' Drive

NORTHPORT, AL. — A group of University of Alabama student-volunteers clutched bouquets and held up four fingers to signify an important victory on Friday as UA defeated its longtime rival in a friendly competition to benefit a worthwhile cause.

In the parking lot of the West Alabama Food Bank in Northport, Alabama was announced as the winner over Auburn for the four straight year in the "Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger" food drive — a effort that has seen over 7 million pounds of food collected since it began in 1994.

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In the 2020 installment, Alabama finished with a sizable lead, collecting 291,047 pounds of food compared to Auburn's 259,160. While naming a winner adds more bragging rights to the rivalry, organizers commended the participation of both schools at a time when it is needed more than ever.

Alabama's overall total is also substantially higher than last year, when the Crimson Tide community won the competition with 278,788 pounds of food collected.

West Alabama Food Bank Executive Director Jean Rykaczewski commented that the food drive is always a blessing for the food bank and helps make it possible to feed the needy in the community.

"This year more than ever with the pandemic and serving more people than we’ve ever seen before, it’s especially important this year for us," she said. "Regardless of which school wins, it's a win for the state. Over half a million pounds of food comes into the state and we’re able to serve the people."

Rykaczewski said the overall weight presented at the end of the drive also factored in monetary donations, with one dollar equaling two pounds of food.

She then explained that, due to the pandemic, organizers focused more this year on monetary donations, due to having to let donated cans sit for two weeks before they could process them.

"Normally, we have lots of barrels out," Rykaczewski told Patch. "That made it really difficult this year because we had to have the barrels secured, had to have the barrels sanitized, then when the barrels come back to us they have to sit for 14 days before we can touch them. It's just been a little more trying this year but we’re excited that we were still able to participate."

UA's interim Dean of Students Stacy Jones was also in attendance for the announcement on Friday, praising the effort of student-volunteers and those in the community who stepped up to make this year's drive so successful.

"Everything has been harder with the pandemic and when you think about the creative ways the students have come together to figure out how to keep this particular event going on ... this is a very vital thing to state of Alabama because it just doesn’t serve the school, it serves the whole state," she said.

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