The Athletic & Wellness Center at SUNY New Paltz held its 8th annual Thanksgiving food drive to benefit the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, from Nov. 12 to Nov. 20.
A donation table was placed in the main lobby of the Athletic and Wellness Center. Those who were interested in running the annual Turkey Trot 5K across campus on Saturday, Nov. 14 were asked to donate at least one non-perishable food item as their entry fee.
Those who were not able to participate in the race were also encouraged to donate.
According to Joe Deck, the director of the food drive, Turkey Trot and assistant director of Wellness & Recreation for Intramurals, the food drive has yielded “a couple hundred pounds of food each year.” He noted that many participants tend to donate more than one item.
This year’s food drive yielded 363 pounds of donated food, according to Deck.
The Athletic and Wellness Center has chosen the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley as their target charity for the past few years. Based in Cornwall-on-Hudson, the Food Bank receives food and personal hygiene donations from hundreds of local and national companies. The donations are then given to charitable agencies across the Hudson Valley, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and programs for youth, seniors and the disabled.
“They’ve consistently been the easiest to work with and the most appreciative of all the places we’ve donated to,” Deck said.
Deck personally delivered the collection of donated items to the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley on Nov. 24, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Continue scrolling for more information on the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, as well as hunger statistics in America.
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