On Friday the 22nd, the Weber State men’s hockey team partnered with the Utah Food Bank and local SUBWAY® franchises to help collect food and prepare for the holiday season.
“We are incredibly grateful that SUBWAY® Restaurants and college students across the state will be working together to help us fight hunger,” Utah Food Bank Chief Development Officer Ginette Bott said in a press statement. “Being able to reach out to students, our next generation of donors, will help us feed Utah families facing hunger now and into the future.”
In statistics compiled by the Utah Food Bank, one in seven Utahans will be at risk of missing a meal today. Of the nearly three million people who live in Utah, that’s almost 423,000 people per day. Even more concerning is the fact that one in five Utah children are unsure where their next meal will come from.
For Friday’s event, SUBWAY® offered a promotion: The first 1,000 people who brought a nonperishable food item to the game would receive a gift cart good for a free 6-inch sub from SUBWAY® redeemable at any SUBWAY® in the state of Utah. Weber State is one of several colleges across the state of Utah that joined with the food bank to help fill their stores for the holiday seasons.
“After hearing about Utah’s food insecurity statistics, SUBWAY® restaurant owners felt a need to organize several food drives throughout Utah,” Marsha Boam, media contact for the local group of Subway owners said in a statement to the press. “Up to 1,000 SUBWAY® rewards cards are available, which could potentially mean several meals for families facing food insecurities.”
Last year, the statewide food bank distributed over 31 million meals to Utahans in need from donations that were gathered across the state through local food drives. As a nonprofit charitable organization, the Utah Food Bank is dependent on the charitable donations from citizens across the state in order to make their efforts possible. Every $1 donated to the Utah Food Bank will provide up to $7.35 worth of goods and services to those in need.
The hockey team spent much of their time in this past weekend’s Wasatch Showcase fundraising and raising awareness on several different things. Though they saw the end of a 14 game winning streak, their efforts brought more than just another win in the team’s record.
The food drive’s Facebook page advertised reduced ticket prices for all who wished to attend the game as another incentive to attend. As a special bonus, Santa Claus was present at the game and opportunities were available to kids of all ages to take pictures with Santa and his helpers.
The drive on Friday was effective, but more donations are needed. For more information on how to donate or locations of where you can drop off donations, go to https://www.utahfoodbank.org/history for more information.
