Support students - donate 10 food cans on Sept. 25 and receive 1 free Fair admission ticket

FRESNO - The Big Fresno Fair and Fresno State announce the fifth annual “Feed the Need” Food Drive at Fresno State from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 25 to benefit the Student Cupboard. Community members who bring 10 or more canned food items to the Fresno State Red Lot (southwest corner of Barstow and Cedar avenues) on this date will receive one free Big Fresno Fair admission ticket good for any day of the 2019 Fair. Limit of 4 Fair admission tickets per car while supplies last – no expired food please. Those who are unable to make the food drive can still support Fresno State students by donating funds online.

Food drive donors will be greeted by Fresno State First Lady Mary Castro, and Fresno State coaches and players who will be giving away 2019 season football game tickets throughout the day to lucky winners chosen at random. Maya Cinemas will give away popcorn coupons while supplies last, along with other supporters helping raise food, funds and awareness for the Student Cupboard. New Rock 104.1, 940 ESPN, 95.7 The Fox and 99.3 Now FM will broadcast live throughout the day to entertain donors who can drive through and donate their cans without even getting out of their vehicles.

The Fresno State Student Cupboard, an initiative of the Fresno State Food Security Project, provides free food and hygiene items to current Fresno State students in need. Since its inception in November 2014, the Student Cupboard has had more than 15,374 unique student visitors and over 204,000 total visits. During the academic school year, the Student Cupboard serves an average of 4,600 student visitors each month who benefit from free food and hygiene items donated by community organizations or purchased at discount through strategic partners with donor funding. Additionally, 563 student applications were submitted to CalFresh last academic year as part of the efforts of the Fresno State Student Cupboard.

“Community support for basic needs greatly helps our students achieve their academic goals while they are at Fresno State. Nearly 44 percent of our students struggle with food insecurity and it is a high priority of ours to reduce it, said Dr. Frank Lamas, Fresno State’s vice president for the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. "Food insecurity is not something that is limited to our campus. Throughout California, campuses are working together to address this crisis and empower student success."

“Last year, with the amazing support of our community we collected 67,000 pounds of food at our food drive at Fresno State – this went directly to serve students and help them with a basic need,” said John C. Alkire, CEO, The Big Fresno Fair. “We want our community to rally around Fresno State and this drive by showing up in big numbers to top our collection totals from last year. So mark your calendars for Sept. 25 and come out with your 10 cans of food to donate at our ‘Feed the Need’ Food Drive at Fresno State.”