A FOOTBALL BET FOR FOOD SECURITY

The Food For Lane County building at 770 Bailey Hill Rd as seen on Nov. 24, 2021. Food For Lane County is a food resource in Eugene. (Isaac Wasserman/ Emerald)

A FOOTBALL BET FOR FOOD SECURITY A FOOTBALL BET FOR FOOD SECURITY

Oregon and Utah senators raised 55,000 pounds of food donations as part of a bet prior to the Ducks vs. Utes football game. BY HANNAROSE McGUINNESS • TWITTER @SCOHANNAROSE

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Utah Senator Mike Lee raised roughly 55,000 pounds of food donations for local non-profit organizations in their respective states as part of a bet prior to the Oregon Ducks vs. Utah Utes football game on Nov. 19.

The food donations from Oregon — 15,000 pounds of ground beef from Farmers Ending Hunger and 20,000 pounds of dairy products from Tillamook County Creamery Association — will be given to the Utah Food Bank. FOOD for Lane County and the Oregon Food Bank will receive 40,000 pounds of pork from Smithfield Foods in Utah. The donations were supplied to both states regardless of the winner, which is good news for Oregon following the Ducks’ 7-38 loss to the Utes.

Hank Stern, Wyden’s press secretary, said the donations will help provide for those dealing with food insecurity, as well as highlight the work that Food for Lane County does for the community.

“The senators wanted both to help food banks in their states and to spotlight the year-round need to help people facing food insecurity,” Stern said. “Thanks to the generosity of the donors, those goals were achieved.”

Wyden said he was glad to see the community get involved in combating hunger and food insecurity.

“I’m grateful that Farmers Ending Hunger and TCCA once again are putting their community generosity on full display as part of this effort to help combat hunger in Oregon and Utah,” Wyden said in a press release.

John Burt, executive director of Farmers Ending Hunger, said arranging and transporting the beef donation may take two to three trips over the next couple of months to get the total donation amount to Utah.

“We’re a small organization, so we can’t respond quite as quickly as Smithfield Foods,” Burt said. “We just decided we would try to support Senator Wyden in this wager and, as a result, support the food banks.”

FOOD for Lane County, one of the donation recipients, has been serving the county since 1984 and aims to create access to food for those struggling with food insecurity. Food pantry facilitators seek out protein donations, said FOOD for Lane County Events and Media Coordinator Dawn Marie Woodward.

“Anytime we can get high-quality food like this is great,” Woodward said. “We strive to have quality protein in our system, because protein is a building block to fuel the body, and protein is so important in our diets, but it’s very expensive.”

Woodward said community donations of volunteer time, food or money are what make FOOD for Lane County’s mission possible. Its 170 partner agencies allow easy accessibility, both for those using food services and those donating to them. Ninety-three cents of every dollar donated to FOOD for Lane County goes directly to programs and providing free meals, Woodward said.

“It is not possible for us to do what we do without community support, and so I just want to thank the community for helping in any way that you can,” Woodward said. “Every little bit helps, and it’s just fantastic that we live in a community that we can count on people who care about their neighbors and want to help.”

FOOD for Lane County’s website, foodforlanecounty.org, has more information on donation drop-off locations and how to volunteer.

Christopher Kiyota stepped outside of the box to create his shoe business. UO students discuss their fashion businesses and why they got started. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Kiyota)

DUCKS: BY EVAN HUNTINGTON • TWITTER @EVANHUNTINGTON THE FUTURE OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY

UO students have transformed their passion for style into their own entrepreneurial pursuits by starting fashion-related businesses.

A typical day in the life of UO sophomore Christopher Kiyota consists of checking his Instagram direct messages for new orders to his sneaker resale business, going through his inventory list and making a trip to the post office for new shipments — all between classes and study sessions. This is the ordinary routine of a young college business owner living out his dream with ambitions of taking his passion to new heights.

Running and managing a business is no easy feat as a full-time college student, but these four UO students have channeled their love for fashion into self-made brands and career ventures. They each hope to express their creativity and inspire others by making an impact on the world through their own fashion outlet.

The vintage connoisseur: Alexandra Webster

@approachvintage

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and UO’s track season was cancelled, student athlete Alexandra Webster had a lot of free time on her hands. Already known by friends and family for her unique curation of vintage outfits, she started developing her skill for thrifting and personal styling.

“I started to get motivated because you don’t have anything else to do,” Webster said. “I started getting into fashion and clothing to try to keep myself busy.”

Noticing her newfound interest in fashion and thrifting, her mom suggested the idea of turning what was a quarantine hobby into a monetary opportunity by opening her own store. With thrifting rising in popularity amid the pandemic, Webster realized her knack for hand selecting thrifted items could become her own business that could help others with their style too.

She took the leap and opened up her own clothing store: Approach Vintage.

A resale store of unique vintage pieces and popular trendy items, Approach Vintage is located at The Woodlands Mall in her hometown of Houston, Texas, serving as a way to share her love of fashion with others. The store offers all kinds of original pieces, such as oversized jeans, bomber jackets, graphic tees, bucket hats and more. In the nearly two years since the start of her business, Webster has already seen massive success and growth, reaching six figures in sales within her first year of opening the store, she said.

Webster described how truly blessed she was to have that opportunity fall in her lap and be able to get her vintage store started right down the street from where she lived.

“People have been so supportive,” Webster said. “All my friends are always walking by, showing me when they’re at the store; they’ll take a photo and tell me that they’re there. It’s amazing.”

As a new small business owner, it can be difficult to promote your business and gain a wider customer base. Starting out, Approach Vintage was no exception to those challenges.

“The hardest thing was getting my name out there, because I’ve never really known what to do with marketing and promoting myself and a small business that just started out,” Webster said. “But once people started hearing about it, I saw that people love it, and they’re posting about it.”

In the future, Webster wants to expand her brand and branch out into other lines and chains under the same name, broadening her product line as well as her customer base. She plans to start Approach Athletics, a new business with a focus on athletic wear, in the near future.

“I like the idea of not being afraid to do something,” Webster said. “Life’s pretty short, so just do it.”

The ultimate sneaker plug: Christopher Kiyota

@whasiankicks

Christopher Kiyota started out with $180 in his pocket and one pair of used shoes to scrub, clean and resell. Then, one pair turned into two. With consistency, dedication and curiosity about the sneaker resale business, the UO sophomore built his business, WhasianKicks, from the ground up, figuring out how to run and manage a reselling business all on his own.

“I feel like for once I was able to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself,” Kiyota said. “Growing up in San Diego, you don’t really see a lot of opportunities to grow as something different than just a student or an athlete.”

In the fashion world, nothing can quite compare to the competitive demand and almost religious reverence some people have for sneakers. Entrepreneurs like Kiyota have taken advantage of the thriving culture of sneaker reselling, which allows sneakerheads to make a profit from buying and reselling high-demand or rare sneakers.

With over 18,000 followers on Instagram, Kiyota has taken his love for sneakers to new heights by becoming an in-demand sneaker reseller and supplier in Eugene. Drawing in hundreds of customers per day through his social media, Kiyota said he has sold sneakers to countless customers, including fellow UO students and some major names and athletes as well, such as Deebo Samuel and Noah Beck.

His sneakers are kept in a storage unit where customers can set up a reservation to shop in person, but high customer demand can make it overwhelming to manage, he said.

“As it got bigger and bigger, it started to get harder to maintain these people,” Kiyota said. “When you’re getting 120 DM requests per day about shopping, you get so flooded.”

Kiyota plans to open a storefront for WhasianKicks in the downtown Eugene area by January so he can reach more people and provide better customer service.

“I want to have an optimistic influence on people and make sure I create an atmosphere surrounding my business of happiness and memories,” Kiyota said. “Just something along the lines of you’re going to remember it for years to come. It’s not going to be like

@approachvintage

Alexandra Webster talks about how she eventually wants to bring Approach Vintage online. UO students discuss their fashion businesses and why they got started. (Ali Watson/Emerald)

Vintage t-shirts are always in style and can be found at Alexandra Webster's store. UO students discuss their fashion businesses and why they got started. (Photo courtesy of Alexa Webster)

you remember my name just because of the shoes I sold you, but you remember it because of how it made you feel.”

The bling buff: Emily Roberts

BlackCatsSparkle on etsy

Emily Roberts grew up in the tiny town of Big Bear, California, and spent most of her life there. She moved up to Oregon during the peak of the pandemic, which was a somewhat difficult experience, she said. She had a hard time finding a job in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic as well as making friends during a completely remote first year at the university. Soon enough, Roberts began making jewelry.

She decided to make some earrings with her friend one day for her birthday, and that friend was quick to suggest Roberts start her own Etsy shop with original jewelry pieces. Despite the immediate support for this potential small business venture, she was originally skeptical of the idea.

“Slowly over time, my family and my friends here and everyone I knew were basically pressuring me to open an Etsy, and I was just like ‘It’s not going to do well guys,’” Roberts said. “But I opened it anyway, and it’s been doing better than I thought.”

Pursuing creative projects and making artsy pieces since she was young, the UO sophomore has used her artistic roots to create her own small business of handcrafted crystal jewelry. She primarily sells her pieces from her online shop on Etsy, BlackCatsSparkle, but also recently began setting up her own stand to sell her creations in person in Salem.

Crafting everything from earrings and bracelets to necklaces and even wreaths, she has seen success with her business in the UO community. She caters to students with fun crystal, skull and mushroom designs, keeps prices inexpensive and delivers to local customers. She has even reached beyond her Etsy shop and sold some of her pieces in the Halicuna Bay Mall in Salem, selling over $60 worth of products on her first day.

“I just really love seeing people wearing my product,” Roberts said. “I adore seeing people around campus and my friends wearing my stuff in their photos. It’s just really rewarding and makes me really happy.”

@whasiankicks

Christopher Kiyota built his successful business all on his own from the ground up. UO students discuss their fashion businesses and why they got started. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Kiyota)

The game day aficionado: Noah Gould

@boxenautzen

A typical Oregon Duck football game is electrified with the energy of thousands of die-hard Duck fans. If you’ve been to a home game recently, especially in the student section, you might have noticed the word Autzen in a green, Supreme-like box logo plastered on the shirts, hoodies and beanies of many students and other fans. If so, you have witnessed the work of UO 2019 graduate Noah Gould and his revitalized game day clothing brand BoxenAutzen.

With a focus on providing gear for football games, Gould was inspired to create his brand when he noticed the large price margin of common game day gear while studying abroad in Italy in the fall of 2017. Being the first time he had interacted with game day outside of Eugene, he had an epiphany.

“Something I noticed quickly was that everyone was wearing the same things,” Gould said. “It was pretty much Nike jerseys and a couple beat tees sprinkled here and there. You’re looking at a beat tee, which they’re giving out for free, and you look at a Nike jersey and they retail for $150."

Gould realized the majority of game day attire fell on either end of this cost spectrum with no real middle ground. That was the moment he was inspired to fill this gap.

After his time in Italy, his newfound inspiration led him to design some shirts intended to only be worn by his friends. Through the fall of 2018, the orders simply kept coming in, eventually passing 500, Gould said. It was not long before he received backlash from the university’s brand management, claiming he was making a profit by infringing on their word: Autzen. By early 2019, Gould said he received a cease and desist letter from the university to stop his business, and he did.

With a dwindling sense of spirit for the university amid this legal turmoil, he eventually connected with a local manufacturer that had an existing pipeline to get products licensed and to work directly with the university.

“I figured out a way to get my products through this licensing funnel where I can sell products and the university can make royalties off of them,” Gould said.

By the middle of 2020, he finally had UO’s support to sell his product and was receiving sales orders from the Duck Store. Designing from his home in Los Angeles with his production and shipping teams based in Eugene, his business came back in full swing, and Gould has been amazed by the success he’s seen for this season.

“Going into Autzen the night of Nov. 13, I was blown away at how much BoxenAutzen I saw around the stadium,” Gould said. “It’s really rewarding to see it where it’s supposed to be seen – in its natural habitat on a Saturday.”

@BlackCatsSparkle

Emily Roberts has been making artistic pieces since a young age. UO students discuss their fashion businesses and why they got started. (Photo courtesy of Emily Roberts)

@boxenautzen

Noah Gould, a UO graduate, sports gameday apparel from his Autzeninspired clothing brand, BoxenAutzen. UO students discuss their fashion businesses and why they got started. (Photo courtesy of Henry Ammann)

SHIFTING GEAR: MUG LIFE

Shifting Gear is the Daily Emerald’s gear review column. Audrey Kalman recommends everything you could ever need on a biweekly basis.

BY AUDREY KALMAN

(Eleanor Klock/Emerald)

“The medium is the message,” media scholar Marshall McLuhan iconically wrote in 1964. While he may have been talking about television, this lens has been applied to everything from Apple products to artificial intelligence. I believe McLuhan’s theory can be applied to warm beverages as well; the mug is the message.

A good mug can enhance a beverage, solidify a routine and make you smile. The most direct way that a mug influences its contents is by determining the drink’s volume. Sometimes smaller espresso-size cups do the trick, while other times bigger is better.

I spoke with Mariah Williams, a ceramics studio technician at the UO Craft Center, who swears by handmade mugs. “Whether it be my morning coffee or evening chamomile tea ritual, it is always out of a handmade mug,” Williams said. Here in Oregon, you do not have to go far to get a great handmade mug. Some of Williams’ favorite local makers include Nicole Marie Hummel Ceramics, Lunar Honey Ceramics and Pleasant Hill Pottery.

The holidays are a great time to purchase from these small businesses. Pleasant Hill Pottery is having its Annual Holiday Sale the weekend of Dec. 11 and 12 and will be open by appointment Dec. 13-24. The sale will take place at the Pleasant Hill Pottery facility, which is about a 15 minute drive from campus. Even closer is Clay Space, a Eugene ceramic studio that opened in 2008. They are having a holiday sale on Dec. 4 and 5, which you can RSVP to on their website. In addition to these great local options, I would be remiss to leave out a few personal favorites. The Japanese Hasami Porcelain makes incredible mugs, tea pots, coffee drippers, trays and bottles, all of which fit together both literally and aesthetically. These made-in-Japan vessels start at about $23 and are not available locally. When I am feeling especially cosmopolitan, I turn to my mug from the New York store Zabar’s, which sells some of my all-time favorite bagels and utilizes a great font for their logo. Or, when I want to represent where I am from in San Francisco, I will drink out of a mug from Excelsior Coffee or Ritual. I also adore traditional

“A GOOD MUG CAN diner mugs, the very best of which ENHANCE A BEVERAGE, can be found in used or vintage SOLIDIFY A ROUTINE AND stores So, when you

MAKE YOU SMILE.” pour your next cup, pay special attention to your mug. Perhaps indulge and use your house’s favorite mug, or even consider picking up a new one. A good mug is sure to add character to your routine and might even lead a new friend to spark up a conversation. Audrey Kalman is a senior here at UO, studying history, art history and media studies. She enjoys reading and writing nonfiction essays, taking photographs, watching SportsCenter and eating breakfast foods.

COLLEGE COOKING: DIY PIZZA NIGHT

Plan your next group activity with a pizza night you and all your friends can enjoy.

BY LAUREN LEONE • TWITTER @LAUREN_NICOLEL

(Lauren Leone/Emerald)

For all you students looking for a fun and delicious activity to do with your friends, look no further. Do-it-yourself pizza night is a great way to spend time with your friends while baking delicious food. I prefer to make pizzas from “scratch.” And by “scratch” I mean buying single serving pizza doughs at Trader Joe’s for only $1.19. These doughs are so cheap and are such a great and easy way to liven up your dinner with friends and roommates.

I’ve had two pizza nights with my roommates, and they’ve been a total hit. We have so much fun rolling out our pizza doughs and throwing our favorite toppings onto our personal pizzas. After they’ve baked to perfection, we always sit ourselves in front of the TV, put on one of our favorite shows, like “The Bachelorette,” and enjoy our delicious pizzas.

Below are two of my favorite pizza recipes. The first is a margherita with mushroom pizza. I’ve always loved margherita pizzas, and when the mushrooms are cooked just right, they make the pizza that much more delicious. The other pizza I love is a pepperoni pizza with sliced jalapeños. The jalapeños add such a nice spice that compliments the pepperoni and makes for a perfect pairing. If neither of these sound appetizing, it’s quick and easy to substitute ingredients to fit your tastes.

Ingredients:

- Trader Joe’s pizza dough *You can buy either plain or garlic herb. I like to use plain for the pepperoni and jalapeños and garlic herb for the margherita with mushrooms. - Trader Joe’s pizza sauce - Trader Joe’s shredded pizza seasoned Toscano cheese *You can find this next to the pizza dough and pizza sauce. - Fresh marinated mozzarella cheese - Fresh basil - Mushrooms - Pre-sliced pepperoni - Jalapeños - Grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Roll out your dough. Adding some flour can help with the stickiness of the dough but is not necessary.

3. Once you have your desired pizza shape, transfer your dough onto a baking sheet and add your pizza sauce onto your dough, leaving some room for the crust.

4. When you have finished putting your toppings on your pizzas, cook them in the oven for 14-16 minutes or until they are fully cooked.

Margherita with mushrooms

1. Cut your mushrooms into thin slices and throw them on the skillet. Sauté them for about 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

2. While your mushrooms are cooking, add your mozzarella cheese to your pizza. Place the cheese balls sparingly.

3. Add your mushrooms along with your fresh basil. Tear up your basil leaves and sprinkle them on your dough.

4. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese.

Pepperoni with jalapeños

1. Cover your pizza with the Trader Joe’s Toscano cheese.

2. Place your pepperoni slices.

3. Cut your jalapeños into thin slices and place them near the pepperoni.

4. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over your pizza.

Lauren Leone is an opinion columnist for the Daily Emerald. She is a third-year advertising student at UO. She is a Bay Area native with a strong passion for healthy food, digital art and creative writing.