Nicholls hosts annual can drive to help local food banks

Nicholls State University is hosting its annual Nicholls Can Drive until Nov. 9.

The campus-wide, annual food drive encourages students and faculty to donate can goods and non-perishable items to local food banks. There are drop-off stations located around campus for all donations.

Kaisa Young, assistant professor of physical sciences, is offering her students extra credit for class participation in the drive. The more cans brought, the more points received.

“I’m encouraging students to bring in cans mainly just to support our community,” Young said. “I know that a lot of people around here use the food banks, and I want to help that. If I can encourage my students to do it even by giving them a few extra credit points, then I’m willing to do that just to support the food banks.”

On Monday, the Student Government Association is set to hold SGA Can Wars to help the effort. Different student organizations will compete in creating displays with can goods and non-perishable items. Organizations with the most spirited and most creative displays will each win a prize of $250 each.

On Monday, students have between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to build their display. Displays will be judged at 4:30 p.m. The deadline to compete is Friday, and organizations should contact SGA to register.

Dolly McGeever, who works in the student government office, said that SGA encourages participation.

The Feeding Louisiana website says that people facing hunger in Louisiana are estimated to be needing over $300 million more per year to meet their food needs. An estimated one in four children lacks access to food. Nicholls’s goal is to have every member of the community donate at least one item during the drive.