News Release

N.C. universities join forces, raise
$15,809, 2,623 pounds of food donations

CHAPEL HILL – The "Big Four ACC Canned Food Drive" has just concluded, and four North Carolina universities collectively raised $15,809 and 2,623 pounds of physical donations – for the equivalent of 81,669 pounds of food.

The amount of food will provide about 68,774 meals to needy individuals across the 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina that the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina serves, organizers said.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Wake Forest University and N.C. State University participated in the competition – Feb. 1 through March 1 – to see who could raise the most canned foods.

UNC was the top university in the competition, raising $8,852 and 264 pounds of physical food donations, translating to a total of 44,638 pounds.

The food drive is an expansion of the annual "Beat Hunger Beat Duke" competition. Last year, UNC and Duke collected nearly 70,000 pounds of canned food.

More information is available at www.beathungerbeatduke.com

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UNC event co-directors: Seke Ballard, (919) 360-5420 or seke_ballard@kenan-flagler.unc.edu; and Joshua Criscoe, (910) 523-1264 or joshcriscoe@unc.edu