Fall food drive draws largest collection to date

Liberty University students, faculty, and staff stepped up in a big way to battle local hunger as they donated over 6,800 pounds of food to the annual campuswide food drive, hosted by the Center for Christian/Community Service (CSER), Nov. 2-18. Sodexo, Liberty’s dining services provider, has committed to matching this donation (as it does every year), which will bring the total food collection to over 13,500 pounds.

The amount of food donated this year was nearly twice what was given last year.

“We are so amazed at the generosity of the students, faculty, and staff who donated food this year and made the LU food drive such a success,” said Dr. Darren Wu, CSER coordinator. “Their generosity resulted in the largest collection we have ever had since the inception of this food drive.”

Wu thanked Sodexo for “its generous corporate match” and also expressed his appreciation for Dr. David Wheeler, professor of evangelism, whose classes contribute the bulk of early donations, helping the drive gain traction. Wheeler encourages his students to take the lead in food drive participation every year.

The Lighthouse Community Center of Lynchburg received a significant portion of the donations. According to Dr. Dan Mitchell, pastor of the Lighthouse Community Fellowship (a church which operates within the center), there was so much food that they were unable to store it all at their facility; the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is storing the rest for them. He said that the canned goods will likely last until midspring.

“It is a great blessing; we don’t take it for granted,” Mitchell said. “We appreciate everything that Liberty students have been doing. Liberty students are a unique bunch; they are a great blessing to this town.”

He said Liberty students lead the way in community service, motivating others to get involved as well.

Liberty students regularly volunteer with Lighthouse. Students from the Center for Chaplaincy, for example, take turns serving lunch and leading devotionals, feeding up to 70 people daily.