Faculty drive feeds the needy

Kayla Webley
2003-12-11
The Daily

Thoughts of the holiday season are frequently accompanied by visions of a lot of finger-lickin' good food. However, for many this is not the case, as they are forced to celebrate what should be a very happy time of the year in hunger.

These people rely on food banks to provide them with the necessities for the holiday season, and while the food banks are more than willing to provide, this time of year is very strenuous on their resources. The UW's annual faculty food drive hopes to lessen this strain on one local food bank this holiday season.

This is the 19th year of the faculty food drive. Last year the drive brought in more than 10,000 pounds of food and this year looks to be the biggest yet, as there is an all-time high of 90 food-collection barrels set out in various departments on campus.

The drive began Nov. 13 and continues through Dec. 15. All donations from the food drive go to the University District Food Bank, which is the busiest food bank serving the 98102, 98103, 98105, 98115 and 98125 zip-code areas.

The faculty food drive is very important to the bank, according to Bill Lowie, assistant director of the food bank.

"This food drive helps us sustain through this time of year," Lowie said.

The week before Thanksgiving, the bank served 985 households, up from 870 last year. In a week's time the bank gives out 25,000 pounds of food.

"This is a very small building that puts out a lot of food," Lowie said. "It is amazing, but it's actually kind of tragic, because there's a definite trend where about 10 percent every year it goes up. It hasn't gotten much better. We are really lucky to have a university so close to help sustain us through these times and give us extra donations."

The drive saves the bank from buying food at this time of year, so that money can be saved for months like July when there are no food drives.

The only requirement for people to get food from the bank is that they live in one of the service zip codes. The food bank will not deny anyone services. Even if people come from outside the service area, they are given an emergency bag and are then referred to a food bank closer to them.

All the bank asks for is a proof of address. It doesn't ask why people are there or why they are using the food bank.

"There's not a whole lot of questioning," Lowie said. "The mission is to alleviate hunger, not to figure out why you are hungry at the moment or why you are using the food bank."

The food bank's paid staff consists of only two full-time employees and one part-time worker, so the bank relies on volunteers, who contribute about 1,000 hours a month. The volunteer staff consists of roughly 100 core volunteers in addition to those who are doing community service and are there for a short period of time.

The volunteers perform a variety of tasks, from helping pass out food to picking up donations from local businesses.

At the UW, the Department of Environmental Health and Safety brought in the most donations in last year's food drive and is expected to donate the most again this year.

This year the department switched over from last year's interoffice competition format to a pledge-drive format that has led to average donations from staff members of $40 to $50.

The department feels it can most accurately measure the donations in terms of items, either in food items or cash. It has already surpassed last year's total of 1,071 items -- which included cash donations -- and has a goal set of 1,500 for this year's drive. This includes several hundred dollars in cash donations, where each dollar counts as one item.

Previously, the motivation behind these donations was a pizza party; however, this year it didn't take a party to get people to help out. The department's goal is more important than the party, as staff members are trying to outdo what they did last year and keep the department on top.

The items most needed in the drive are traditional holiday food items, such as pumpkin-pie mix, yams, stuffing mixes, cranberry sauce, baking goods, coffee and tea. Also needed are nutritious non-perishable items, such as tuna fish, chili, beans, peanut butter, soups, stew, canned fruits, juices. Toiletries and pet supplies are also needed.

The University District Food Bank is located at 1413 N.E. 50th.