Purdue Hammers Down Hunger at home and in Haiti

“Packing 150,000 meals is no small task, and the Ag Week team couldn’t be happier with the support of the Purdue community,” says Dane Chapman, a junior studying agribusiness and co-chair of Hammer Down Hunger, part of the annual Purdue Ag Week. “We exceeded our goal of 1,000 volunteers thanks to the Purdue students, faculty and staff who embody the Boilermaker spirit of selflessly serving others.”

For this event, explains Chapman, “Our goal is twofold: pack meals to fight global and local hunger and educate, promote and engage students in learning about the importance of food and agriculture.”

Honoring the university’s 150th anniversary, students more than doubled the number of meals they normally pack — completing 150,000. Half the meals were sent to Haiti, while Food Finders Food Bank distributed the other 75,000 in Indiana.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who spoke on campus earlier in the day, videotaped a message for the volunteers. “Our motto here at the USDA is to ‘Do right and feed everyone.’ Each of you here today is embodying that motto at Hammer Down Hunger. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Purdue University than packaging 150,000 meals to fight food insecurity around the world and right here at home.”