see what you can give food drive

see what you can give Food Drive story by Mercede Odegaard

There are few things in life that are better than being able to give back to your community, and here at USF, we love giving back. For this year’s Cougar Days, one of the events that took place was the “See What You CAN Give Food Drive” competition, where the residence halls, faculty, and staff on campus competed to see who could donate the most food items. This year’s food drive ran from Monday, September 28th, through Sunday, October 4th and was in direct partnership with Feeding South Dakota. All of the food products donated will directly impact relieving hunger across the state through their Mobile Food Pantry Program.

As for the teams, here’s how it was broken down: each residence hall was their own team, except for Kroske and Burgess who combined to make one team. The commuter students were a team, and lastly the faculty and staff were a team. The team with the most food items donated by the last day of the contest won a prize.

Giving back to our Sioux Falls “ community was a great way to celebrate Cougar Days. “

Some of the specific items Feeding South Dakota was in need of included: canned meat, peanut butter, jelly, canned or dried beans, canned vegetables, canned fruits, canned sauces and dressings, oatmeal, boxed meals, and pancake mix. They also stressed the importance of not donating any opened items, any glass containers, and no homemade items. At the end of the week, the items donated by each team were totaled and the winner was announced. This year’s winner of the “See What You CAN Give Food Drive” was Grand Island Hall! For donating the most food items to the food drive, they won a Donut Party.

Giving back to our Sioux Falls community was a great way to celebrate Cougar Days while showing school spirit. If you couldn’t donate anything this year, mark your calendars for next year and be prepared to give anything you can! Hopefully everyone had a great Cougar Days!