ASU students can help fight hunger in Arizona and beat UA in the Territorial Cup Food Fight by filling a Flash bus with canned food donations.
The event, called Fill The Flash, will be the last and biggest event of the semester put together by a student-run nonprofit organization called ASU4Food, a club that promotes awareness of hunger issues and raises money and food for the hungry.
The bus will be parked outside of the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus April 7 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students are encouraged to bring canned food to fill the bus up entirely.
ASU4Food is also working to place food-collection bins in markets around the Tempe campus, such as the Palo Verde, Barrett and Hassayampa markets, for students who cannot make it to the bus at the MU. They are working with Parking and Transit and a student organization, Barrett Leadership and Service Team – Downtown, to put bins at centralized locations on the Downtown and West campuses.
Participating in Fill the Flash will not only let students be a part of a good cause, but will also help ASU beat UA in what is called The Territorial Cup Series Food Fight, said Saman Golestan, a journalism senior and president of ASU4Food.
The Food Fight, sponsored by State Farm Insurance, is a battle between the two universities to see who can raise the most in donations and food to help their communities.
Golestan said the club works year-round to feed the hungry and raise awareness about hunger in Arizona.
“People tend to think more about hunger problems around Thanksgiving,” Golestan said. “But unfortunately, hunger is always a problem.”
All of the proceeds from Fill The Flash will go to St. Mary’s Food Bank. St. Mary’s is the largest food bank in Arizona, serving two-thirds of Arizona’s 15 counties, according to their website.
Every dollar that goes to the food bank feeds seven hungry people in Arizona, and every pound feeds one, said Chet Provorse, a food drive manager for St. Mary’s Food Bank.
If the bus is filled up, it can hold at least 2,000 pounds of food, Golestan said.
“This year has been ASU4Food’s most successful year,” Provorse said. “The team is committed, organized and understands the need of a link between ASU and an organization such as St. Mary’s Food Bank.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arizona has the second highest poverty rate in the country.
“A lot of people think of the hunger issue as something that happens far away or when a natural disaster occurs,” Golestan said. “However, right under our very noses here, every night, there are hundreds of people that are going hungry.”
ASU4Food is working with local organizations such as the city of Tempe, the Alumni Association and University Initiatives. They will also be reaching out to the fraternities and sororities of ASU.
Ray Combe, a food drive coordinator for St. Mary’s Food Bank, said in an email that ASU4Food donated about 6,500 pounds of food and $3,400 last semester. That means they provided a meal to about 30,300 people in Arizona throughout five months.
ASU4Food, which was created two years ago as an honors thesis, is comprised of only 14 members. Golestan encourages students to join the organization, even if they can only volunteer for a couple of hours. Students interested can join by sending an email to ASU4Food@gmail.com or by finding them on Facebook or Twitter.
“We want to show that this is something ASU stands for,” he said. “We do care about these important local philanthropic causes that have a direct impact on our community.”
Reach the reporter at ingarcia@asu.edu
