UUP Walks to Support Food Pantry 

Volunteers Claire Malone, left, of Delmar, and UAlbany grad student Jaime Coffino restock shelves at St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. (Photo by John Carl D'Annibale, Times Union photo used by permission.)

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 29, 2017) – The Albany chapter of United University Professions (UUP) is sponsoring a 5k walk on Sunday, April 30, from 2 to 4 p.m. on the main campus to raise awareness about the nationwide problem of food insecurity on college campuses.

All proceeds from the walk will benefit St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, 984 Madison Ave., Albany. The food pantry serves the Albany community, including UAlbany students who live on campus or those who live in the Pine Hills and Eagle Hill neighborhoods.

The certified 5k course begins on the interior campus road near the southeast corner of Indian Quad.

A Times Union article in December drew attention to the University and the union’s partnership with St. Vincent de Paul, and to the growing problem of food insecurity on college campuses.

“I'm thrilled that UUP Albany is sponsoring this Walk to Fight Campus Hunger,” said UUP Albany Chapter President Bret Benjamin. “Mark your calendars and join us. It’ll be fun, and fighting hunger on campus and in our community is simply the right thing to do. We invite UUP members, their families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and anyone else to join us on the 30th.”

Angela Warner, director of the food pantry, said, “St. Vincent’s Food Pantry served 5,000 households in 2016. The money raised at the walk will go directly to purchase food to feed our hungry neighbors."

Participants are encouraged to start a team in their office or academic department, and compete with friends to see who can collect the most for the pantry. The entrance fee will be used in its entirety to stock St. Vincent’s food pantry, so participants are asked to consider giving more.

The walk is open to the public. The entrance fee for those 18 and older is $20, with a reduced entrance fee for UAlbany students of $5. Same day registration is $25. Early registration is encouraged, to ensure an adequate supply of T-shirts. To register or for more information, go to the UAlbany UUP website. A Facebook event page is also available.

The faculty and staff union has partnered with the University to support the local food pantry. Since the pantry can purchase food at a reduced price, every dollar raised at the walk buys $4 worth of food.

If you are not available for the walk but would like to make a donation, make out a check to St. Vincent’s Food Pantry and write “For UUP Walk for St. Vincent’s” at the bottom of your check. Mail it to the chapter office at 1400 Washington Ave., CS B21, Albany, N.Y., 12222. You may also drop the check off directly at the chapter office located in CS B21 on the uptown campus.

The walk is a Chapter Action Project, sponsored by the statewide United University Professions to promote union engagement in the community. More information is available about the partnership between UAlbany, UUP and St. Vincent's.

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