Community "Stuffs a Bus" to Beat Hunger

The bus that was parked on Greene Street in front of the Russell House from Tuesday, Nov. 12 to Thursday, Nov. 14 departed for Harvest Hope last week, full of canned goods collected in the first campus-wide effort to 'Beat Hunger.'

Chi Psi fraternity, Student Government and the Department of Vehicle Management and Parking Services sponsored the "Stuff a Bus" part of the campaign to end hunger. The goal was to fill the bus with all of the collected food items during the week at various spots on campus. Dining Services incorporated their Helping Hands Across America program to raise money for Harvest Hope, a local food bank, while trying to break a Guinness record for "largest food drive by a non-charitable organization in a 24-hour period (multiple locations)."

In light of tough economic times, it is a crucial time for the Harvest Hope ministry. According to chief executive officer of Harvest Hope, Denise Holland, demand has drastically risen this year.

"We are experiencing a 100-percent increase in demand for food over last year and are counting on the generosity and support of everyone in the community who has the means to pitch in and help their neighbors," said Holland.

To help meet this demand, various student, campus and community organizations hosted projects to raise money and collect food to fill stomachs. Chi Psi fraternity member Andrew Spiegel got the idea to "stuff a bus" from an alumnus who said it was easy to do but had a high reward. This is the first year that the fraternity has sponsored this event on campus, but they hope to make it a tradition.

"We thought it was important to be involved in this campaign because there is such a huge percentage of people who are a lot less fortunate, and there is a great need for things like food and shelter," said Spiegel. "A lot of times we're preoccupied with things like partying and socializing while others are worried about where they're going to live or what they will eat…it's sad."

The three-day campaign culminated in a "Beat Hunger/Beat Florida" pep rally Thursday, Nov. 12, complete with Cocky, cheerleaders and the University pep band. The event included a carnival where students could pay $5 or bring 5 cans in exchange for tickets to play traditional carnival games or to eat in the Grand Market Place.

At the end of the rally the "stuffed" bus was weighed to determine whether it weighed more than 388,381 pounds, the current Guinness record. The bus weighed 2,534 pounds, and the cans totaled 27,000 pounds.

Record or not, it was wonderful to see so many from the University of South Carolina community come together to fight hunger.

For more information about the University's effort to beat hunger, go to http://www.saeu.sc.edu/cec/beathunger/

For more photos of the carnival, visit the 'Student Affairs & Academic Support' Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=162902&id=148023434457

By: Becky Wiens