April 22, 2008

Purdue residence halls engage IU in charitable 'Battle of the Barrels'

The effort supports the 16th annual National Association of Letter Carriers food drive. With help from Purdue students, Tippecanoe County letter carriers have out-collected their Monroe County colleagues for the past two years, taking home the small wooden bucket that goes to each year's winner.

This is the first year that collection barrels have been placed inside residence halls. Kim Motuliak, the food bank's resource director, said with the help of Purdue University Residences the local carriers should be able to surpass last year's total of 70,000 pounds in collected food.

"Purdue University students have been very generous with us through the years in terms of their time," Motuliak said. "By donating just a little of their leftover shelf-stable foods at the end of the school year, they can make a big difference in the lives of hundreds of people in this community who need help meeting their nutritional needs."

In previous years Purdue donations have come largely from graduate students living in on-campus apartments giving to their postal workers. This year, Shreve Hall resident Jennifer Barth, a freshman from Houston, approached University Residences about having collection points in residence hall common areas.

"I have volunteered at the Montgomery County Food Pantry and my church food pantry for years," Barth said. "I thought this project was an easy way that thousands of students could get involved all at once."

Purdue houses almost 12,000 students on campus, the largest program in the nation where every student lives on campus voluntarily. Allyson Hodge, University Residences director of conferences and community relations, said "Battle of the Barrels" is an example of the type of responsible citizenship University Residences seeks to instill in its residents.

"Typically, our students have not experienced hunger, and most, armed with a university degree, can expect a bright future," Hodge said. "Training them to think of and help others is a valuable part of their education that will pay dividends in communities around the world for decades to come."

The food drive continues through May 4 when the food will be taken to the food bank's warehouse in Lafayette. It will then be distributed to food pantries, homeless shelters, senior centers, congregations and community centers to reach those in need in a 16-county mid-north Indiana region that stretches between the perimeter of the Indianapolis and Chicago metropolitan areas. 

Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu

Sources:   Ally Hodge, (765) 494-1000, allyhodge@purdue.edu

Jennifer Barth, (765) 495-9137, jmbarth@purdue.edu

Kim Motuliak, (765) 471-0062, kmotuliak@food-finders.org

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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