Purdue colleges’ food drive brings in over $80,000 for local food bank

Purdue University’s College of Agriculture and nine other academic units raised $82,364 for Food Finders Food Bank during a virtual food drive. According to metrics provided by Food Finders, this translates to 248,761 meals that will feed families in North Central Indiana.  

“The economic repercussions of the COVID-19 virus have hit everyone hard, especially our most vulnerable community members,” said Melissa Funk, administrative assistant for the College of Agriculture’s Office of Multicultural Programs and drive organizer. “We are so pleased we could band together to deliver essential resources to our community in a time of need.”

The College of Agriculture was joined by nine other major academic units — Purdue Libraries; School of Information Studies; the colleges of Engineering, Health and Human Sciences, Pharmacy, Science and Veterinary Medicine; the Honors College; and Polytechnic Institute.          

Food Finders serves 16 counties, including Tippecanoe County, in North Central Indiana where one in eight people suffers from food insecurity. To find out more about what Food Finders is doing during the COVID-19 crisis and how to help, visit: https://www.food-finders.org/give/.

Featured Stories

A young Kristin Floress stands in a forested area with a friend in 2006; Floress stands in front of ruins in 2017; Floress holds her Distinguished Alumni plaque in April 2026.
Meet Kristin Floress: 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

Dr. Kristin Floress, who earned her PhD from Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources in 2008, has...

Read More
Marissa Hake
Hake named 2026 Book Harmon Leadership Fellow

Marissa Hake, DVM, encourages students to embrace unexpected career paths in animal agriculture.

Read More
Dr. Ted Cable holds a raccoon in his younger years; Cable visits the Taj Mahal in India while working at Kansas State; Cable holds his book Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World.
Meet Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Ted Cable

Dr. Ted Cable, Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources’ 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award...

Read More
High-clearance agricultural sprayer in a field with electrical transmission tower and lines in background
Indiana farmland values hold steady amid regional shifts

Indiana farmland prices remained relatively stable in 2026, according to the latest Purdue...

Read More
Ben carter points to something on a computer to group of three students in a lab classroom, all in white coats. There are chemicals and biological research tools on the lab bench in the foreground.
Biochemistry prepares young undergraduates for graduate school and biotech careers with new molecular genetics course

In a new molecular genetics course, freshman and sophomore biochemistry majors emulate graduate...

Read More
Sherri Reinsch, research associate and hellbender husbandry coordinator gently handles a hellbender in the lab. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood)
Minecraft Meets the Hellbender

The eastern hellbender salamander will never win a wildlife beauty pageant. It’s believed...

Read More