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

Story by Emma Ea Ambrose

April 27, 2020

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/.

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