O
HOMECOMING 2014
MEALS ON WHEELS
Homecoming Week food drive seeks to fill KU bus with healthy options
MINSEON KIM
@minseonkim94
The Stuff the Bus program, a competition to see who can donate the most food to fill a KU bus, has been a popular program during Homecoming weeks in the past. With more than 25 organizations participating each year during Homecoming Week, the program donated 7,500 pounds of nonperishable food in 2012 and 9,700 pounds in 2011 to Just Food, a food bank in Douglas County.
This year, Stuff the Bus took place in front of the KU Adams Alumni Center from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Students say they are excited to see the KU bus they normally ride around campus being filled with food.
"The idea of putting everything on the bus really catches people's attention," said Caitlin Dunbar, a senior from Wichita and a community outreach
chair in the homecoming steering committee.
After a year of absence due to a program with United Way, Stuff the Bus will revive and restart to help solve local hunger issues in Lawrence.
"This year we were contacted by Just Food of Douglas County and [they asked] if we would be interested in reviving Stuff the Bus," said Jacey Krenhbiel, coordinator of alumni programs from McPherson. "Because we weren't doing it last year, they saw a drop in their success rates of items and what not. It's one of those situations where we find a need and this was a great partnership with Just Food."
Because Stuff the Bus serves Douglas County, students can see their donations directly benefiting the community they are living in.
"It [goes to a] local [charity],
and we really try and keep it within the community. I think that really reaches out to more
Jeremy Farmer, the CEO of Just Food Douglas County, emphasizes the quality of food being donated through the Stuff the Bus food donation. Farmer said food drives are more than donating as much food as possible.
of the student body when they know that the food is actually going to stay in here in Lawrence, Kansas, and help families here," Dunbar said.
"Most of the time when we do food drives, we get the most unhealthy food — any food drive that we do, college students notwithstanding," Farmer said.
one problem by virtue of trying to solve another. There is value in just giving thought to the fact of what is it that I am buying and how is this going to affect someone else's life potentially" Farmer said.
With $21.2 million being spent on treating type 2 diabetes in Douglas County, Farmer says that the mentality of "more food is better" has to go. Getting more out of the same amount of money has often been seen as the best option, not only for college students but for the country in general.
Stuff the Bus has a big impact on Just Food Douglas County in providing the needs of hungry people. Students can make a greater impact on the community by stuffing the right food.
"We don't want to exacerbate
"This is a big deal for us. A lot of people participate, a lot of people love getting involved. It's easy to pick up food that is needed and to give makes a huge impact for our clients. It would make it an even larger one if we are able to get the right food in the door," Farmer said.
There are five recommended items that can nourish children and parents' meals.
"Things that we need the most are healthy cereals, whole-grain pasta, canned
fruit, peanut butter, and canned meat. Those are the things that our clients take the most of," he said.
Just Food Douglas County and the KU Alumni Association continue to work together to solve the hunger issue
Lawrence. The Stuff the Bus program helps by bringing the community together to resolve this issue.
"We want to work ourselves out of the job," Farmer said.
"We want to not con-
We want to not continue just by virtue of operating to legitimize our existence to grow. Our mission is to holistically look at this issue — hunger — not just from the standpoint of how can we save somebody's hunger today, but
how to save their hunger in the long-term."
The KU Alumni Association looks forward to reach out beyond just the KU community with the Stuff the Bus program.
"We think it's really about recognizing what we have here
it's easy to pick up food that is needed and to give makes a huge impact for our clients. It would make it an even larger one if we are able to get the right food in the door.
JEREMY FARMER Just Food Douglas County
and how we can transfer that beyond just our university and classes and beyond KU," Dunbar said.
- Edited by Ashley Peralto
FIVE THINGS TO STUFF A BUS