(From the University of Findlay)

University of Findlay held its annual Helping Hands food drive on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, bringing together community members, local middle schools, and the campus community together to fight hunger. On Thursday, November 2, 2023, the food totals were tallied and it was announced that Helping Hands brought in 249,897 pounds of food to be donated to CHOPIN Hall (Christians Helping Other People In Need).

2023 resulted in more than 11,000 additional pounds of non-perishable food items compared to 2022’s total of 238,732 pounds. The food was weighed, sorted, packaged, and loaded on to 59 pallets. It took three semi trailers to move all of the food to CHOPIN Hall, including 5,168 jars of peanut butter (most requested item).

“It’s overwhelming to see that number go up every year, thinking there’s no way it can go up any more. This year was one of those years where I was positive that we would have a good showing, but I didn’t think we were going to beat last year’s record,” said David Harr, University of Findlay director of Dining Services.

CHOPIN Hall director, Ron Rooker, was beyond excited to learn how much food was collected, as food insecurity has increased in Hancock County, and because Helping Hands is one of CHOPIN Hall’s biggest collection events. “It’s tough to explain how important this event is to us. It fills the pantry at CHOPIN Hall, but more importantly it allows our clients to receive more food and food options that we are unable to provide throughout the year,” Rooker said.

To learn more about Helping Hands, and to see a running total of the year’s previous pounds of food, visit Helping Hands online.