NC State Wins Pantry Bowl vs. UNC
NC State defeated its rival in football — and a competition for most donations to each schools’ respective food pantries.
On Friday, Nov. 25, NC State came out on top in the annual football game against their in-state rival — the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, a different kind of competition between the two schools was underway long before the game even began.
From Nov. 20-27, NC State’s Feed the Pack Food Pantry and UNC’s Carolina Cupboard hosted the second annual Pantry Bowl. The Pantry Bowl is a fundraising initiative that unites the fan bases of both schools to bring awareness to the issue of food insecurity, which affects as many as one in five people on college campuses.
In this year’s Pantry Bowl, the pantries received a combined 2,235 gifts for a grand total of $148,099.93. NC State’s Feed the Pack Food Pantry received the most gifts with 1,128, compared to UNC’s 1,107. Because of the passionate response, both food pantries exceeded their gift totals from the previous year. Feed the Pack will receive an additional $11,000 from Perry and Susan Safran and other generous donors, and Carolina Cupboard will receive an additional $10,350 from Mark Stone and generous Carolina supporters.
“It’s inspiring to see that so many people rallied together to help support our pantry’s efforts to combat food insecurity within our campus community,” said Taylor Sligh, Americorps VISTA for Feed the Pack.
Monetary gifts to Feed the Pack help support partnership and food costs, personnel costs, pantry supplies and equipment, training and community programming, and marketing efforts.
“Thank you for supporting Feed the Pack in this year’s Pantry Bowl,” said Rose Krebs, program coordinator for Feed the Pack. “Your support is crucial to Feed the Pack’s mission to continue to support our Wolfpack family with dignity and respect. Feed the Pack will continue to grow our partnerships, expand the items provided in the pantry, and purchase food, including fresh produce, for our shelves.”
Although this year’s competition has come to a close, you can still support Feed the Pack year-round. Learn how you can help by visiting https://feedthepack.dasa.ncsu.edu/.
