By Curtis Bovee

Staff Writer

One thing is certain, there is an overwhelming need for food among CSUSM students. One in five North County residents has food supply issues on a regular basis, according to the nonprofit group Donate Don’t Dump.

To address the crisis, a coalition of CSUSM student groups and local agencies held a food drive off-campus on Oct. 3 , where 2,300 pounds of food was distributed to more than 220 students in just 30 minutes.

The food donations were collected by the CSUSM Kinesiology Majors Club, Kinesiology Service Learning Students and Donate Don’t Dump, in collaboration with the North County Community Services Food Bank. The giveaway was held at Summit Church in San Marcos.

The food distributed included fresh fruits and vegetables, an assortment of dairy products, eggs, bread and even on-the-go salads and wraps. All of the food was given to the North County Food Bank by donors such as Albertsons, Trader Joe’s, Pizza Hut, California Creative Salsa, Frito Lay, Nature’s Own Bread, Go Green Produce, Famgro Farms, and Be Wise Ranch.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 1.3 billion tons of food goes straight to landfills every year, which if consumed would equal to about 1,400 calories per person per day. Donate Don’t Dump is a non-profit organization which tackles hunger and environmental issues. Its goal is to ensure that short-dated and surplus food from local grocery stores and food companies is donated instead of thrown away.

“We are trying to usher in the next generation of recycling to help save the environment while we alleviate hunger. We can’t waste a precious resource like food, with so many people struggling,” said Camille Posard, co-founder and co-president of Donate Don’t Dump. The next food distribution will be from 2 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at Summit Church, 292 E. Barham Drive, Suite 202. Organizers expect to distribute about 4,000 pounds of food. Summit Pastor Daniel Jones and his wife, Theresa, collaborated with the groups to host the event.

The Kinesiology Majors Club thanked Lisa Posard, Camille Posard, Gabri Posard, Dr. Darci Strother of the Office of Community Service Learning, and Dr. Laura De Ghetaldi for making their event possible.