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As the Missouri Tigers prepared to take on the Troy Trojans, The Food Bank and its volunteers prepared to take on hunger at the annual Score Against Hunger game in September.
Despite temperatures in the 90s, 18 volunteers from The Food Bank donned bright yellow vests, grabbed donation buckets and hit the pavement, going from tailgate to tailgate to raise awareness and collect donations.
“Help us run up the score against hunger!” one volunteer yelled out. “We’re helping out The Food Bank today,” echoed another.
Volunteers handed out mini footballs and stickers in exchange for donations. Eight of the volunteers were from the Columbia College lacrosse team. The team’s assistant coach, Collin Tolsma, shared that the team prioritizes giving back to their community and tries to get involved in some form of community service every month.
“To start the year, we thought there was no better spot than to come back and help out The Food Bank,” Collin said. “We are privileged to have the opportunity to play the sport we love and pursue a college degree. Many may not have the financial ability to donate monetarily, but we are able to donate our time and work a great event with a great cause helping support people in our community that may be going through hard times.”
While volunteers worked to raise money for The Food Bank, staff hosted a tailgate featuring the Score Against Hunger trailer on Mick Deaver Drive. At the tailgate, staff collected donations, sold T-shirts and set up yard games for attendees.
Each gift made before the coin toss went a little bit further this year thanks to Douglas Drown. He generously agreed to match all donations up to $10,000. With this match, we’re excited to announce that the Score Against Hunger game raised more than $25,000 – a new record!
ABC 17 News Anchor Lucas Geisler also volunteered at the event and enjoyed engaging with the community.
"Volunteering for Score Against Hunger allowed me to see the generosity of Tiger fans firsthand. So many people were willing to stop what they were doing, listen to how their donation would help The Food Bank, and give. I enjoyed simply getting to meet so many fans to talk about the issue," Lucas said.
While the Tigers defeated the Trojans 27-17, more work remains to defeat hunger. But yard by yard, play by play, it's all about moving the ball forward. Thank you to our generous community, our hard-working volunteers and our resilient staff. Together, we will keep tackling hunger.
The Score Against Hunger game is just one part of the Score Against Hunger campaign. Mizzou Football and The Food Bank have partnered on the campaign since 1995. It's the Food Bank’s largest fundraising effort, supporting our work to serve over 100,000 people monthly across our 32-county service area. You can be a part of Score Against Hunger by attending the annual game, getting tickets for Taste of the Tigers or giving in solidarity with Tiger fans to make a difference for food security in our area.