Tennessee's community and technical colleges collected nearly 111,000 food items and cash in 26th Annual Food Drive Challenge

Students, faculty and staff at Tennessee’s community and technical colleges donated or collected the equivalent of 110,851 food items during the College System of Tennessee’s 26th Annual Food Drive Challenge. The food and cash donations go to campus food pantries for students in need and to local food programs serving their communities.

The Food Drive Challenge was conceived in 1999 by the Student Government Presidents Council – student leaders from across the state – as a project to help fellow students and others in need. The campus communities have kept the campaign going annually since then – friendly competing, in tiers based on enrollment size, to see which can collect the most. Cash donations are counted as two items for each dollar. Including this year’s collections, more than 1.8 million items of food and funds have been donated and collected over the 26 years.

This year’s Challenge wrapped up last week with 23 colleges across the state participating. Congratulations to this year’s Challenge winners in each enrollment tier, with the total items and funds converted to items collected:

Community Colleges

• Tier 1 (smaller enrollments): Roane State Community College – 6,108 items.
• Tier 2 (larger enrollments): Pellissippi State Community College – 49,470 items.

Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology

• Tier 1: TCAT Hartsville – 3,542 items.
• Tier 2: TCAT Henry Carroll – 4,850 items.
• Tier 3: TCAT Northwest – 12,312 items.

Food items and funds are used to stock campus food pantries and also support community food banks, non-profits that provide food assistance, and other local support agencies.

Roane State Raider Pantry

Donations may still be made online through the College System Food Pantry Campaign at https://www.tbr.edu/advancement/college-system-tennessee-food-pantry-campaign. 

In addition to the Food Drive, most of the College System’s campuses also participate in other local programs in the spirit of giving back to their communities.  Examples include TCAT Crump, TCAT Jacksboro and Dyersburg State Community College adopting angels from Angel and Giving Tree programs to provide children, seniors and others in need with gifts this holiday season.

Roane State connected with a local nonprofit organization to provide children’s gifts to parenting students, while TCAT Morristown collected toys and gifts for 25 children in the community. TCAT Northwest and several others packaged holiday food for families over the holidays. TCAT Dickson hosted fundraisers for campus members facing hardships, TCAT McMinnville collected pet food and supplies, Pellissippi State collected school supplies and hygiene items, and TCAT Henry/Carroll donated to the local school district’s backpack program. Dyersburg State hosted a Backpack Blessing Supply drive for hygiene and clothing items for unsheltered residents in the community. Pellissippi State packed and distributed 150 Thanksgiving food boxes and its Student Care and Advocacy Center, along with the Stay Strong Center, served over 300 students a hot meal during finals.

The generosity continues as some campuses continue to collect items for donation. Jackson State is wrapping up its toy drive and will donate the toys to children in the community, and Dyersburg State is hosting an Eagle Tree to collect hygiene and school supplies for students into the new year. These efforts are in addition to bottled water and fundraisers hosted at campuses across the state earlier this fall to support victims of the Hurricane Helene flooding disaster in Northeast Tennessee.

“Everyone is a winner in this challenge! What a wonderful way to support students and give back to our communities,” said Dr. Heidi Leming, Tennessee Board of Regents Vice Chancellor for Student Success & Strategic Partnerships, whose office coordinates the Food Drive Challenge.

Food insecurity is a major challenge on college campuses. A 2023 report by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) cites research concluding that students experiencing food insecurity are less likely to excel academically and more likely to report stress levels that hinders their ability to focus on their studies.

More information about food insecurity among students, and resources such as campus food pantries and other programs, is available on the THEC website at https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/thec/learn-about/task-forces/food-insecurity.html.