Don't drop these (45,000 pounds of) 'hot' potatoes
SHU is the first university in Conn. to fight hunger with a tractor trailer and 950 bags of 'spuds'
Ashley Stearns
Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: News
It is hard to imagine there are people that go to bed hungry in the nation's third wealthiest county, but it is an epidemic Fairfield County faces.
As a result, Sacred Heart is reaching out as the first university in Connecticut to participate in a Potato Drop, a collaborative effort between institutions where 45,000 pounds of potatoes will be distributed to the needy.
The school is looking for volunteers to help out with the project.
"The goal of the project is to bring food to people who need it and dramatize the need by having a visual project that shows why there is a need for food in a wealthy county," said Phyllis Machledt, Director of Service Learning and Volunteer Programs and member of the Golden Hill Methodist Church.
She said she thought it would be a good idea to team up institutions to reach out to those less fortunate.
This event will distribute 45,000 pounds of potatoes to those in need from the area. North Lot will be filled with 900 50-pound bags of potatoes, which is equivalent to 135,000 servings of food.
According to the Society of St. Andrew, a Christian ministry whose main objective is to feed America's hungry, 36 million Americans go regularly without food. Thirteen million are children who have no food at all at least three days of the.
Fairfield County has many residents that fall into this category and the numbers continue to rise. The gap between the county's poor and wealthy is so large that there are still starving people in what is considered one of the nation's wealthiest counties.
This underprivileged population is often malnourished and affects women, children, the unemployed, the working poor and the homeless.
"We are doing it to feed the hungry people in this area as well as raise the communities' awareness to the fact about hunger in Fairfield County," said Meghan Polis, sophomore, East Patchogue, N.Y., one of the chairmen of the project.
The Potato Drop is a result of the collaborative effort of Sacred Heart, the Society of St. Andrew, Golden Hill Methodist Church and the Bridgeport Council of Churches.
As a result, Sacred Heart is reaching out as the first university in Connecticut to participate in a Potato Drop, a collaborative effort between institutions where 45,000 pounds of potatoes will be distributed to the needy.
The school is looking for volunteers to help out with the project.
"The goal of the project is to bring food to people who need it and dramatize the need by having a visual project that shows why there is a need for food in a wealthy county," said Phyllis Machledt, Director of Service Learning and Volunteer Programs and member of the Golden Hill Methodist Church.
She said she thought it would be a good idea to team up institutions to reach out to those less fortunate.
This event will distribute 45,000 pounds of potatoes to those in need from the area. North Lot will be filled with 900 50-pound bags of potatoes, which is equivalent to 135,000 servings of food.
According to the Society of St. Andrew, a Christian ministry whose main objective is to feed America's hungry, 36 million Americans go regularly without food. Thirteen million are children who have no food at all at least three days of the.
Fairfield County has many residents that fall into this category and the numbers continue to rise. The gap between the county's poor and wealthy is so large that there are still starving people in what is considered one of the nation's wealthiest counties.
This underprivileged population is often malnourished and affects women, children, the unemployed, the working poor and the homeless.
"We are doing it to feed the hungry people in this area as well as raise the communities' awareness to the fact about hunger in Fairfield County," said Meghan Polis, sophomore, East Patchogue, N.Y., one of the chairmen of the project.
The Potato Drop is a result of the collaborative effort of Sacred Heart, the Society of St. Andrew, Golden Hill Methodist Church and the Bridgeport Council of Churches.
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