Aztecs Rock Hunger Hits New Record
The Aztecs Rock Hunger food drive raised more than 600,000 pounds of food for San Diegans in need.
“What we are doing has a real impact on real students, so we must continue to fight food insecurity on our campus and in our community.”
San Diego State University’s annual Aztecs Rock Hunger food drive collected 601,607 pounds of food for The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, marking another record-breaking year for the campaign and topping last year’s total of 590,503 pounds.
From Oct. 18 to Nov. 10, the food drive collected non-perishable food in red bins across campus and monetary donations at SDSU Dining locations, the SDSU Bookstore, Aztec Proud events and select home athletic games. Additionally, monetary donations were collected through an online food pantry, the mobile payment app Venmo and at local College Area businesses. A $1 donation provided up to six pounds of food.
Aztecs Rock Hunger is a universitywide initiative led by Associated Students (A.S.) in collaboration with several partners including Aztec Shops, Aztec Proud, Residential Education, Housing Administration, SDSU Athletics, Student Affairs and the College Area Business District.
A portion of the food drive’s proceeds support the A.S. Food Pantry, which distributed more than 111,000 pounds of food and served 2,607 students last year.
“Growing up, my family was working class and we often had to rely on food pantries,” said Dustin Adkins, A.S. vice president of financial affairs. “When I transitioned to college, I found myself back in a position where I was food insecure. Thankfully, I found services like our Associated Students Food Pantry. What we are doing has a real impact on real students, so we must continue to fight food insecurity on our campus and in our community.”
While 80% of monetary donations go to The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, the remaining 20% remains on campus for SDSU's Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT) to provide short-term and long-term aid to students experiencing food insecurity. This campuswide network that provides emergency support to students who are facing an economic crisis, such as the sudden loss of housing or an immediate food shortage.
