Every year, Auburn and Alabama go head to head on many fronts — one being the annual Beat Bama Food Drive.
While COVID-19 regulations have affected logistics, the board commitee wants students to know the many ways they can still help out.
Gin Jager, junior in apparel marketing and vice president of the Beat Bama Food Drive, gave some insight of exactly what the Beat Bama Food Drive is, how students can help and what this year’s drive will look like.
“Beat Bama Food Drive is a student-led organization that holds an annual food drive every fall for Food Bank of East Alabama in competition with the University of Alabama’s Beat Auburn Beat Hunger for the West Alabama Food Bank,” Jager said. “Donations will help fed the thousands of people living in food insecurity in our community.”
The Beat Bama Food Drive started in 1994 and has become a way for campus to give back to the community ever since. Jager emphasized the importance of the drive during the pandemic.
“The 2020 Beat Bama Food Drive could be the most pivotal drive yet,” she said. “Nothing about out school year is going to be normal, yet in any way we can, we still want to adapt into normalcy. One way we are trying to achieve that as we are gearing up for the drive kickoff on Oct. 1 is hosting our first ever T-shirt design competition.”
Over the past two weeks the drive has held an open competition online where students could submit their T-shirt designs for this year’s food drive. This is one of the ways students could get involved with the BBFD. Although the deadline has passed, the drive is offering other ways students can get involved.
On Beat Bama Food Drive’s website, the board committee has a list of items it calls its wish list, or the top items students are requested to donate.
These items include peanut butter, mac and cheese, granola bars, canned meals, fruit snacks and hygiene and cleaning products.
Another way that students can help is by donating money directly to the Food Bank of East Alabama’s website.
The committee of the Beat Bama Food Drive is also asking students to spread the word about the food drive. Students are encouraged to educate their fellow classmates, family, friends and co-workers on what they can do to help the food drive.
The last major way that all students can help is by volunteering.
The Beat Bama Food Drive website states that volunteers are the heart of the program, and without the numerous volunteers it has every year, the success it sees would not be possible.
The board committee asks any student that is healthy and willing to help to sign up for volunteering.
The Beat Bama Food Drive will run from Oct. 1 to Nov. 19, and all students are encouraged to participate in hopes of beating Bama in the spirit of the drive.
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