Maryland Student-Athletes Come Together to Support Area Food Bank
10/18/2007 8:00:00 AM | The Barry & Mary Gossett Center for Acad
Oct. 18, 2007
Posting a 1,000-pound increase over last year's efforts, Maryland student-athletes joined forces once again this year in support of the Capital Area Food Bank during Maryland Madness festivities. While ushering in a new season of Maryland basketball, Terrapin student-athletes and teams collected non-perishable food items from students and fans during the annual kickoff event.
This year's efforts resulted in the collection of a record-breaking 1,635 pounds of food. This total was nearly triple the 600 pounds gathered last year.
"The results of our Canned Food Drive were fantastic as we were able to collect much more food than in previous years," noted Allie Houseal, President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at the University of Maryland. "This is due to the hard work of our student-athletes and SAAC advisors, as well as the entire University of Maryland community and our supportive fans. It feels good to be able to help the Capital Area Food Bank in such a large way."
"It's exciting to hear the good news about the success of the event," added Michael Marchiano, a junior tri-captain on the men's soccer team. "We were certainly proud to play a part. We have supported the food bank in the past and will continue to in the future. It was a great event and we were happy to have the opportunity to help out."
The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest, public nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. Each year the Capital Area Food Bank distributes 20 million pounds of food through over 700 member agencies.
Maryland student-athletes collaborated to forge an extensive marketing campaign across campus to encourage student involvement, as well as challenging each other and their respective teams to surpass last year's total. The 1,000-pound increase from a year prior would not have been possible without the extensive contributions and support from Terrapin fans and benefactors who came out to the Comcast Center to celebrate and welcome in a new season of Maryland basketball.
