Fall is my favorite season for a lot of different reasons. I love the weather, the season change and all of the holidays. However, what I love most about fall is the Iron Bowl at the end of November, and along with that game, my favorite UA philanthropy program – Beat Auburn Beat Hunger. This initiative, which has collected millions of cans of food for the West Alabama Food Bank since its inception in 1994, has become a major part of the fall semester for many students. With as much success as the program consistently has, now is the time to expand food donation at the University.
Dozens of UA students face insurmountable struggles, and many times, affording food is a critical component of that struggle. For years, professors in the College of Social Work have housed a makeshift food bank, often supplied with food purchased from their own paycheck, in their offices to provide food for students who simply have no way to afford it. Unfortunately, due to construction updates to the Social Work buildings, the tiny food banks have been difficult to maintain, and many students now face the reality of having no way to get food on a regular basis. This is where the entire UA student body can step in to help.
All year-round, the University should collect cans of food and create a food bank for students who need it. Collection bins could be set up at the Ferguson Center, and the cans could be stored in a location for students to access. After students have received the food they need, excess cans could be donated to local Tuscaloosa food banks. Students would always have permanent access to food as long as they needed.
Programs like this one can be easily implemented and sustained. Like SGA’s Crimson Closet, a program to lend professional clothing to students who need it, this program could be year-round and permanent. Donations could always be collected and provided to students. Incentives like greek points could be given to students who donate a certain number of cans, which would certainly encourage numerous students to get involved. Further, this food bank would put the issue of student homelessness and poverty at the forefront and demand exploration of solutions to these issues.
SGA’s motto is “students serving students,” but through this initiative, this motto could be adopted by every UA student. Students could directly and easily serve other students’ immediate needs by simply dropping off a few cans of food. Instead of just a few teachers providing food, imagine what the entire student body could produce.
So as you enjoy the wonderful fall weather and look forward to beating Auburn again this year, please consider those people who struggle to secure food for themselves. Those people could be sitting next to you in class. In addition to our efforts to end hunger through the Beat Auburn Beat Hunger program, let’s commit ourselves to ending pervasive hunger on our own campus.
Amelia Putnam is a junior majoring in political science. Her column runs biweekly.
