The fifth year of the NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge may be nearing the finish line, but the 13 competing campuses are far from slowing down. With three weeks still remaining in the challenge, these campuses have already collected approximately 10,000 food items for their school pantries and organized almost 50 events to eradicate hunger on campus.
A collaboration between Food Lion Feeds and NC Campus Engagement, the NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge empowers students from North Carolina colleges and universities to compete for a grand $10,000 prize as they raise awareness about food insecurity and collect donations that will stock their campus pantries.
Since the 2023 competition kick-off on September 11, the Student Hunger Ambassadors from each school have been on a mission to accumulate points by organizing events on and around their campus. Student Hunger Ambassadors are required to host five events, and they have the option to host up to six additional bonus events for extra points. Campuses must host each of the following events at minimum:
- Launch Week
- Souper Bowl Campus Food Drive
- Food Lion Partner Store Food Drive
- National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week
- Finale
In addition to hosting events and food drives, campuses receive points for participating in a social media campaign where they post about their activities using the #FoodLionFeeds hashtag.
Food Lion Feeds and NC Campus Engagement will award a total of $25,000 to the winning campuses. Participating schools are battling for the chance to win a $10,000 grand prize or a $5,000 prize for the top school in each sector – community college, four-year public campus and four-year private campus. Since 2019, the Collegiate Hunger Challenge has awarded more than $135,000 to a total of 30 colleges and universities, equivalent to more than 1.3 million meals*.
The 2023 Challenge concludes on December 22, 2023. The winners, to be unveiled on January 5, 2024, will create a video showcasing their journey through the challenge that will be presented during the prize ceremony at the 2024 PACE Conference at Guilford College on February 14, 2024.
With only 22 days until the finale, the NC Campus Engagement and Food Lions Feeds teams eagerly await the final tally of donations, events, and impact that the Hunger Ambassadors have made on their campuses.
The 2023 Collegiate Hunger Challenge participating North Carolina schools and ambassadors are:
Alamance Community College
Ambassadors: Anika Carr & Luke Furmage
Mentors: Kristen Sutherland & Laura Manigrasso
Appalachian State University
Ambassador: Julia Murray
Mentor: Jennifer Maxwell
Central Piedmont Community College
Ambassadors: Shaela Phillips-Baird & Shayla Addison
Mentor: Whitney Williams
Durham Technical Community College
Ambassador: Jessica Zettlemoyer
Mentor: Jake Deuterman
Elizabeth City State University
Ambassador: Kayla Dixon
Mentor: Tony Coley
Greensboro College
Ambassadors: Xyper Pino & Luke Butner
Mentor: Robert Brewer
Guilford College
Ambassador: Madi Spivey
Mentor: Kylee Crook
High Point University
Ambassadors: Aonesti Byrd & Nyila Johnson
Mentor: Grant Hines
North Carolina Central University
Ambassador: Rakeeme Baldwin
Mentor: Sujayalakshmi Devarayasamudram
North Carolina A&T State University
Ambassador: Tayler Scott
Mentor: Sherelle Wofford
Piedmont Community College
Ambassador: Caleb Pulliam & Kayla Rice
Mentor: Matthew Sherman
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Ambassador: Elizabeth Eddings
Mentors: Shelby Newsome & Kamren Lewis
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Ambassadors: Cassidy McFadden & Eden Newbold
Mentor: Zach Lemons
Through Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion has helped to provide more than 1 billion meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. For more information on Food Lion Feeds’ commitment to ending hunger, visit foodlion.com/feeds.
*$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local partner food banks.
For more information about the NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge, please contact Sam Delap (sdelap@ncengage.org)