UMass Amherst Student Nutrition Club Delivering Donated Goods to Amherst Survival Center in Thanksgiving Food Drive

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

DATE:            Friday, Nov. 19

WHAT:          Thanksgiving Food Drive by the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences
                       and the UMass Nutrition Association, a student group, will culminate with the loading up of food
                       and delivery to the Amherst Survival Center

WHEN:          12:30 p.m. packing up and 1 p.m. delivery

WHERE:        Lot 43, behind Arnold House in the northeast quadrant of the UMass Amherst campus,
                       is the site of the loading.        
                      The food will then be delivered to the Amherst Survival Center,
                      138 Sunderland Road, North Amherst, about 1 p.m.

CONTACT:   Amanda Zwirn, azwirn@umass.edu, 646-354-9035
                      Patty Shillington, pshillington@umass.edu, 305-606-9909

The UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences and the UMass Nutrition Association (UMNA) will deliver Thanksgiving Food Drive donations Friday to the Amherst Survival Center in the student group’s largest annual food drive to date.

The Amherst Survival Center has been serving thousands of Hampshire and Franklin County residents in need since 1976, offering a range of free programs and services, including a food pantry.

UMass organizers say they are especially happy to bring relief to those struggling in the community in light of the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted supply chains and the economy. They hope to shed light on the problem of food insecurity, especially among students.

“Many students face food insecurity every day,” says Lindsey Flick, president of the UMNA and a senior nutrition major. “It’s not something that is talked about often. Even though we are back to in-person classes and the community is back, many people are still struggling, including many students. This food drive is meant to help the students and the Amherst community. We are donating not only to the Amherst Survival Center but also to the UMass food pantry. Both pantries cater to the students at UMass.” 

Flick says so many people have donated this year that they have gathered an unprecedented amount of food for the annual event. “This drive has brought out the generosity in my peers,” she says, “and I am very proud to see so many step up to help push back at food insecurity in our community.”