Through Saturday, Nov. 25, University of Utah alumni and students have a message for the local community: Hunger. Still a first-world problem. The annual U Food Drive collects food and donations on behalf of the Utah Food Bank. Last year’s drive collected enough donations to feed 109 families of four for one year, or about 477, 420 meals.

This year’s goal is to raise enough to feed 125 families of four (500 people) for one year. About 392,000 Utahns (1 in 8) are at risk of missing a meal every day, and 1 in 6 Utah kids face daily food insecurity. For 24 consecutive years, U students and alumni have been committed to helping end hunger in Utah.

Although sponsored by the U Alumni Association, two student boards help make the food drive a success. Members of the Student Alumni Board and the MUSS Board will be collecting donations at grocery stores, in neighborhoods, and at tailgate areas before the Colorado vs. Utah football game on Saturday, Nov. 25. “We’re thankful for all the volunteers and donors supporting the U’s food drive,” said John Dunn, B.A. ’92 J.D. ’95, chair of the Alumni Association Community Service Committee. “Thanks to them we are able to support the Utah Food Bank in helping so many families during the holiday season.”

Monetary donations can be made online at ualumni.care, or by mailing a check payable to the Utah Food Bank to: University of Utah Food Drive, University of Utah Alumni Association, 155 S. Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. Nonperishable food donations can be brought to the Alumni Association offices in the old Law School building (332 S. 1400 East) or the Utah Food Bank (3150 S. 900 West). Please indicate that the donation is part of the University of Utah Food Drive.