UIS students collect over 7,000 pounds of food for the Central Illinois Foodbank

Student volunteers at the University of Illinois Springfield collected over 7,000 pounds of food during the annual Trick or Treat for Canned Goods competition on Halloween night.

Fifteen teams, for a total of about 120 of UIS students, canvassed assigned Springfield neighborhoods collecting non-perishable food items. The teams visited the neighborhoods before Halloween, distributing door hangers that explained the project.

“We’ve been doing Trick or Treat for Canned Goods for three years now and it’s been very successful. Each year, I feel like we gradually become better at it,” said Brittany Young, a sophomore sociology/anthropology major.

The canned food drive is part of the UIS Holiday Stars Project, a campus-wide service initiative giving focus to UIS’ efforts to make a difference in the local community during the holiday season.

Sophomore English major Allison Duncan has walked door-to-door for the past two years. She’s amazed by the response from the community and feels like she’s giving back.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity to serve the community that we are in,” she said. “You don’t get a lot of opportunities to do that.”

Prizes were awarded to the top three student groups collecting the most food. The top groups included the first place Lamda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society with 1,131 pounds, the second place UIS Women’s Basketball team with 966 pounds, and the third place Christian Student Fellowship with 726 pounds.

The Central Illinois Foodbank distributes nearly 8 million pounds of food annually to over 160 food pantries, soup kitchens, residential programs and after-school programs in a 21 county region. The foodbank is a member of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, and is a United Way certified agency. More information is available at www.centralilfoodbank.org.

For more information on the UIS Holiday Stars Project, contact Brittany Elder, volunteer services coordinator, by email at belde2@uis.edu, or go to www.uis.edu/holidaystars.