CONTRIBUTED BY THE FOOD BANK OF EAST ALABAMA
LEE COUNTY —
Another “food fight” is underway as the annual Beat ‘Bama Food Drive kicked off on Sept. 30. For the past 28 years, Auburn University and the University of Alabama have competed with each other prior to the football game to see who could collect the most food for their local food bank. It began as a relatively small-scale event and has grown to become one of the largest food drives in the state.
Last year, Auburn took the win with a record-setting 352,389 pounds of donated foods compared to 319,437 pounds for Alabama.
This year’s competition runs from Sept. 30 through Nov. 17, and it promises to be fierce as Auburn fights to hold on to the win for the Plains and Tuscaloosa attempts to take it back.
Donated food will be used to help the Food Bank’s senior programs, soup kitchens, emergency food pantries, missions and rehabilitation centers that are served by the Food Bank of East Alabama and the West Alabama Food Bank.
The competition is primarily a student-organized activity but is strongly supported by the local community, with food drives at many local businesses and public schools. Also, a number of local grocery stores help to facilitate community donations by allowing the Food Bank to place barrels in the store lobby during the food drive.
Locations of collection barrels (updated regularly):
• Winn-Dixie on S College Street, Auburn
• Winn-Dixie on Fox Run Parkway, Opelika
• Sam’s Club, Auburn
• Kroger, Auburn
• Kroger, Opelika
• Food Bank of East Alabama, Auburn
• Community Market, Opelika
• Numerous locations on Auburn University’s campus. For a list of updated donation locations, visit www.foodbankofeastalabama.com and click on “Beat ‘Bama Food Drive.”