Vanderbilt’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is hosting its first food drive from Nov. 1 to Nov. 15 to support food banks around Nashville, Tennessee. The initiative, titled “Anchor Down Hunger,” is in partnership with Swipes for a Cause and Second Harvest Food Bank.
SAAC placed roughly 40 donation boxes in high-traffic areas across campus, including all residence halls, Munchie Marts and athletic buildings, for students to drop off donations. Peanut butter, canned meat, canned fruits and vegetables, soups and stews, pasta and cereal are the most in-demand items. All non-perishable food items are also accepted.
Junior Brady Bliven, vice president of SAAC, proposed the food drive to SAAC after hearing about a food drive competition between the University of Alabama and Auburn University at a SAAC SEC Conference he attended in February. He said he hopes SAAC’s food drive will help the wider Nashville community.
“We’re going to start by doing our own campaign, and we’re just going to focus on Vanderbilt,” Bliven said. “It’s a food drive to help the broader community of Nashville, and we want to encourage students to use meal swipes and any canned goods they have left over at the end of the year to donate.”
In an interview with The Hustler, junior Kennadie Marchand, SAAC social impact committee chair, stressed the importance of supporting neighboring communities and fighting food insecurity around Nashville.
“It’s really important that everywhere around our country, local communities come together to support one another,” Marchand said. “When you can do something about [food insecurity], and when you can bring a bunch of people together to do one little thing, you can make something big happen.”
Marchand said she was optimistic that students would be more willing to use their remaining meal swipes during the end of the fall semester to support families during the holiday season.
“I hope people think about not just stats or numbers but about individual families who might not have [food] to give to their family and have a nice Thanksgiving or Christmas meal,” Marchand said.
Katelen Watkins, assistant director of student athlete development, shared a similar sentiment to both Marchand and Bliven on the potential impact Vanderbilt’s community can make. Watkins said she is proud of SAAC and the social impact committee for organizing the food drive and the awareness it will bring to local food insecurity issues.
“Our student athletes [are] just being mindful of the challenges that are around us while we have dining halls on every corner of campus and food is readily available,” Watkins said. “That is not a reality for our neighbors.”
Watkins said that Second Harvest’s services have experienced an increased demand due to recent federal legislation. She cited the importance of supporting local food banks in Nashville with necessary resources.
“When those federal cuts reduced food supply by 30%, there was a high need then,” Watkins said. “Let alone this added challenge of SNAP benefits potentially being cut off, it truly impacts our families around Nashville, and food should not be a privilege.”
In April, Second Harvest reported a 30% reduction in federal funding from the United States Department of Agriculture. Due to the federal government shutdown, as of Nov. 3, only 50% of Tennessee residents eligible for SNAP benefits will receive payments, according to a sworn statement from a US Department of Agriculture official that was submitted in federal court.
Despite these changes, Bliven said she remains optimistic about the food bank and hopes its impact will expand past the greater Vanderbilt community.
“We’re hoping that the broader Nashville community will take notice, and hopefully, it can become more of a community thing rather than just a Vanderbilt thing,” Bliven said.
