The Big Fresno Fair is proud to announce its continued partnership with Fresno State to lead an on-campus food drive Monday, Sept. 25, to benefit the Fresno State Student Cupboard. The event is part of the ninth annual Big Fresno Fair “Feed the Need” Food Drive effort.
Community members and Fresno State students, staff and faculty are asked to bring 10 or more canned food items per person to Fresno State’s Red Lot (Barstow Avenue, just west of Cedar Avenue) from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. in exchange for one free admission ticket to The Big Fresno Fair, good any day.
Food drive participants will also have the opportunity to meet Victor E. Bulldog, Fresno State First Lady Mary Castro and Fresno State coaches and players who will be giving away game tickets at random to participating donors. New Rock 104.1, 99.3 Now FM and 95.7 The Fox will be broadcasting live during the food drive.
The Fresno State Student Cupboard, an initiative of the Fresno State Food Security Project, provides free food and hygiene items to current Fresno State students in need. Since its inception in 2014, there has been approximately 8,400 unique student visitors and 96,295 total visits to the Student Cupboard. During the core school year, the Student Cupboard serves an average of 3,000 student visitors each month who benefit from foods grown and processed at Fresno State as well as food donated by businesses and the community.
“Food insecurity among college students is a well-studied crisis throughout the California State University and University of California campuses alike,” said Dr. Frank Lamas, Fresno State’s vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. “At Fresno State, one of every three students does not know where their next meal will come from. Student academic success is our No. 1 priority and food insecurity is one of the biggest challenges our students face; therefore providing healthy food assistance has become a driving force for us. With community support, feeding the growing need is both realistic and possible. Our students are being educated to become the next generation of leaders in the region – and we ask for the community to help provide nourishment for our students who work so hard to achieve and generously give back to the community in so many ways.”
“Last year the ‘Feed the Need’ Food Drive at Fresno State raised 18,786 pounds of food and we hope to more than double that amount on Monday, Sept. 25,” said John C. Alkire, CEO of The Big Fresno Fair. “Our fair proudly employs many Fresno State graduates and volunteers who work both year-round and during our annual fair. We are honored to help current students through the efforts of the Student Cupboard, and we are equally proud of our continued partnership with Fresno State.”
