More than 180 UIS students helped collect a record 14,085 pounds of food for the Central Illinois Foodbank on Halloween night in the annual “Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods” event sponsored by the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center.
A total of 181 students formed 18 teams that went door-to-door in several Springfield and Chatham neighborhoods collecting the canned goods.
Earlier this month, the teams canvassed the neighborhoods and distributed door hangers that explained the project. Collected items were returned and weighed on campus. Prizes were awarded to the teams that collected the most food.
The Central Illinois Foodbank distributes more than 9 million pounds of food annually to more than 150 food pantries, soup kitchens, residential programs and after-school programs in a 21-county region.
Also this Halloween, the UIS Cox Children’s Center participated in the fun by having the center children in costume Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods at campus departments. The children collected 365 pounds of food, which were donated to UIS Cares, a new food pantry on campus open to all UIS students in need.