Annual food drive announced

Center for CSER begins Thanksgiving initiative for Southside residents

Liberty University will be hosting its fourth annual Thanksgiving Food Drive in an effort to collect nonperishable food for those in need in the Southside counties of Virginia.

According to Dr. Darren Wu, assistant professor and Christian/Community Service (CSER) coordinator, the drive will start Nov. 1. The last chance to donate will be during Convocation Nov. 19. Donations can be dropped off at several bins located throughout the Vines Center, where members of the Student Government Association will assist in the collection process.

According to Wu, Liberty collected approximately 1,300 pounds of food last year. Wu hopes the numbers will increase this year and has challenged students, faculty and staff to give.

In last year’s drive, Sodexo, Liberty’s food service provider, matched donations pound for pound for the first time. Sodexo will again match donations in this year’s initiative.

“(The Center for CSER is) excited about the partnership between Sodexo and Liberty in meeting the needs in (Southside Virginia),” Wu said.

According to Wu, this is a very tangible way of helping those who are less fortunate or down on their luck.

“(This) is a way we can demonstrate that we have a live faith that is not just about words, that we have a faith that is backed by actions,” Wu said.

In addition to the Vines Center, there are several other collection points, Wu noted. Students can take food to the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall, the Hill City Bistro at the Annex and the Center for CSER in Green Hall, room 1880.

All donations will be distributed by the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank in Southside Virginia, which encompasses the counties of Patrick through Sussex, Buckingham and below. According to Wu, the food is delivered around Thanksgiving.

Wu stressed that students and staff should be good stewards of what God has given them, and that it is not a huge
sacrifice to give a couple cans of food.

“A lot of times we communicate the gospel far more with our actions than with our words,” Wu said. “This type of stuff that we do earns us the right to be heard.”

Students hoping to help local food banks year round can volunteer with several organizations, including the Lynchburg Daily Bread, the Salvation Army and select local churches.

GLOSSNER is a news reporter.