JMU students can it
By Kaleigh Maher, contributing writer
Posted on November 2, 2006

Living inside the “college bubble” with meal plans, punches and Dining Dollars, JMU students don’t have to worry very often about going hungry.

But some in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County do. Of the approximately 15,000 whose income is below the federal poverty level, 31 percent aren’t certain where their next meal is coming from.

“Many of us have experienced very temporary feelings of hunger between meals or after a skipped meal,” Jack Jones, manager of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, said. “But it’s an entirely different and frightening experience when a young child or senior citizen doesn’t know if or when they will eat again.”

The food bank works to eliminate hunger through outreach programs. Food is donated and then inspected, repackaged and distributed to partner agencies in 25 counties and nine cities.

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Networks provides food for 18,000 different people each week. From 2004 to 2005, more than 8 million pounds of food were distributed. According to Jones, the food bank’s goal for the 2006-’07 fiscal year is to distribute more than 8.5 million pounds of food to those in need.

“I think it’s important to recognize that there are people in our community in need,” sophomore Jessica Cooper said.

More than 57,000 people receive food from agencies of the food bank, like food pantries and soup kitchens, each year. Another 5,000 people are fed through outreach programs such as Operation Angel Food, Kids Café, Super Pantry and REACH.

According to Jones, JMU-sponsored food drives generated more than 7,000 pounds of food last year, which was enough to provide more than 5,000 individual meals.

“It shows that students do care about Harrisonburg,” freshman Lindsay Williams said.  “I guess it’s their way of helping out a community, since most students are not living in their hometown.”

On Sunday, a new take on the traditional food drive will take place with the first ever Extrava-CAN-za. Teams will be building fall and Halloween-themed structures out of non-perishable food items, which will be displayed, judged and later donated to the Food Bank.

“We hope to raise a significant donation for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank,” said one of the Extrava-CAN-za coordinators, senior Colleen Cronin. “And we hope to have fun with it and involve the community at the same time.”

Several on-campus clubs and organizations are taking part in food drives during the November and December holiday season. The members of Sigma Alpha Iota spent Halloween trick-or-treating for cans, and SGA will be sponsoring its annual Hunger Awareness Week Nov. 6 to 10.

“The food bank is very grateful for the increased community support during this period, since it helps provide meals for the larger numbers of individuals and families seeking help during the colder months,” Jones said.

While the increased support during this time is appreciated, Jones also said hunger is a year-round challenge.

Extrava-CAN-za will be in the Festival Center foyer from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday. Donations will also be collected during the event. Extrava-CAN-za is free and judging will take place at 5:45 p.m.