The Food Drive

SNAP = $21/Week for Food – Could You Do it?  (or why the Food Drive is so important)

SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or what used to be called food stamps.  If you’re a SNAP participant, you receive $21 per week to spend on groceries, or $1/meal. Could you do it?  Could you go a week spending only $21 on food?

It’s a challenge OSU Students in Free Enterprise (OSUSIFE) voluntarily took on last fall.  OSU SIFE Team Executive Council member Natasha Badaa made the mistake of heading for the grocery store without a list, without planning out a menu, and without researching ideas for inexpensive foods and meals.
“Although we were able to breeze through Winco buying food and keeping under budget it was not until early in the challenge that I realized how wrong my shopping attempt was. I did not buy enough food. I did not buy enough satisfying food. I did not buy enough healthful food. And I did not take into account the essentials like coffee which ended up costing me exponentially in physical, mental, and emotional distress.”  The experience taught her empathy and confirmed her desire “to do more to help those in poverty even more.”  You can read more about Natasha’s and other student experiences with the SNAP Challenge and other activities at http://oregonstate.edu/groups/sife/.  In addition, SNAP Challenge videos are available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LmvuADvLoqk.
You too can choose to take the SNAP Challenge and see how it feels to only have $21/week to spend on food, or you can simply choose to help those who live the SNAP Challenge by participating in any of the many food drive events taking place on the OSU campus during the month of February!

— Julie Howard, College of Forestry

The Food Drive Fair was a success! Thank you to Biological and Ecological Engineering, the OSU Foundation, Foreign Languages and Literature, University Advancement and the College of Forestry for braving the rain to raise money for the drive.

I personally didn’t have anything to sell, but I was out there helping to promote the booth and trying to get folks to stop by and purchase food and raffle tickets – I even helped raise money.  One lady paid me $1 to leave her alone! (She was very kind by the way.)

So – keep those fund raising ideas and events flowing.  We are about half way though and still have lot of money and food to raise.

Thank you all!

-Kate Sanders

The Corvallis Community is raising funds and food for the Linn Benton Food Share.  This weekend, You can get $1 coffee at Dutch Brothers (on Feb. 14) and Footwise Shoe Store will donate 30% of the entire day’s (Feb. 13) profits to Linn Benton Food Share. So if you need new shoes, buy them on Saturday and then on Sunday get your $1 coffee (ANY coffee, you just need to give them $1 and 3 cans of food).

Saturday Shoes. Sunday Coffee. Saturday Shoes. Sunday Coffee….

Participating Dutch Brother Locations:
Bring 3 cans of food to the Dutch Bros locations listed below and receive any beverage of your choice for $1.00.  All donations benefit Linn Benton Food Share and our local agency network.

2001 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis
1855 SE 3rd St, Corvallis
425 Harrison Blvd, Corvallis
1895 Pacific Blvd SW, Albany
1125 9th street, Albany
2840 Santiam Hwy SE, Albany
1491 S Main St, Lebanon
540 Main St, Sweet Home

-Kate Sanders