Food on the Move, Another Way to Give Back to the Community

November 10, 2008

A train was beginning to take shape on one side of the Hamilton Center. A castle and Greek letters rose from the carpet on another side. Construction started at noon Tuesday and the materials were simple – boxes of pasta and rice, cans of soups and vegetables.

Architecture from food or “Food on the Move” is just one of the events happening at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater this week in honor of Chancellor Richard Telfer’s inauguration, which will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14 in the Young Auditorium.

“Food on the Move” helps connect campus with the community. All the food collected -- some 500 to1,000 pounds -- will be donated to the Whitewater Food Pantry on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Construction continues Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the University Center’s Hamilton Center.

“Chancellor Telfer wanted a way to bring the campus and the community together for the inauguration event,” Chris Hollar, residence hall director, said.

Teams participating in this event include Peer Mentors, Panhellenic Council, Clem/Bigelow, Donation Food, West Wells, Sigma Tau Gamma, Group 81, Zeta Phi Beta, Spanish Club, Delta Zeta, Phi Chi Epsilon/Alpha Sigma and many more.

Phi Chi Epsilon and Alpha Sigma are known for their charitable work. They gathered nonperishable food during the Halloween season by hosting a haunted house, which had an admission of one nonperishable food item. They also went trick-or-treating for canned food. They originally planed to donate the food immediately, but after hearing about “Food on the Move” they decided to get involved.

“We think that this is a great event for students to get involved with,” Heather Lesko, a member of Alpha Sigma, said. “It sets a good example for the community and to other students to get involved with events like this.”

The Panhellenic Council was attempting to build the Old Main symbol of UW-Whitewater.

“We are building stronger bonds with the campus and the community,” said Katie VanEperen, a member of the Panhellenic Council. “We are also creating unity by coming together and helping the community with this event.”

A member of Sigma Tau Gamma was generating ideas for their food construction project while waiting on other members.

“The food is going to help many needy people,” Richard Clark, a member of Sigma Tau Gamma, said. “This event shows that we care about others and want to help out the community.”

Not only can students donate food, they can also turn in their Sentry Foods receipts. Sentry will donate 1 percent of its benefits from the receipts received to the food pantry.

UW-Whitewater staff and students are continually giving back to the Whitewater community to show their thanks and support. The Food on the Move is just another way for UW-Whitewater to show their appreciation for Whitewater community members.