Post Classifieds
NYPIRG organizes food drive to assist neighboring community
By Britney Nowak
On March 13, 2013
The New York Public Interest Research Group has organized a door-to-door food drive as part
of their Hunger and Homelessness campaign.
Students and other volunteers at the "Trick-or-Eat" event March 13 and 14 will be targeting the
area directly across from McKinley High School. The collected food will be donated to a food
bank in West Seneca.
The first night, the group will deliver paper bags with notes explaining the event. The following
day, 10 to 15 students will knock on doors around the area to collect non-perishables.
Last semester NYPIRG volunteers collected 300 pounds of food. This semester their goal is to
collect 500 to 600 pounds.
"I think it's an important issue," said Sasha Nivar, a member of NYPIRG. "Whether people are
interested or not, I think it lessens the apathy."
According to the NYPIRG website, more than 3 million people are homeless every year
including 1.3 million children. The website also says that 38,000 homeless people sleep in New
York City shelters every night, and thousands more sleep on city streets and in other public
places.
"It's really sad to hear how many people in Erie County are homeless on a given night," said
Patricia Ceravole, coordinator for Buffalo State's NYPIRG chapter. "Year-round this is a huge
issue for our area, because we do have a high homeless population."
The major causes of homelessness according to NYPIRG's website include eviction,
overcrowded housing, domestic violence, and hazardous housing conditions.
"I think people are disconnected with homeless people in terms of who they are and how they
got to that place in their life," said Nivar. "They are not bad people."
The weather also affects the homeless population in Buffalo, according to Ceravole.
"Anybody that does not have stable shelter, with the weather out there, it makes life for them
very difficult," she said.
Ceravole also said that it's important for students to be aware of the risk they have of ending up
in a similar situation.
"It is so easy to end up in a situation where you are hungry or homeless," she said. "Especially
with students graduating with tremendous amounts of loan debt. They are graduating into a very
unwelcoming job market."
This food drive is one event in a series of events dedicated to the Hunger and Homelessness
campaign.
"This is one of our biggest campaigns that students get involved in," said Ceravole.
The campaign will cover multiple areas of Buffalo to aid in ending hunger and creating a public
awareness about what it is like to be homeless.
"There are thirteen different shelters throughout the Buffalo area that we will be donating to,"
Ceravole said. "Some of them are typical food shelters where people come in for a meal. Some
of them are temporary housing for 10 to 15 adults."
In April, volunteers are going to prepare paper bags filled with sandwiches, snacks, and drinks
and deliver them to different shelters.
The events taken place here also take place across the state.
"We have chapters just like this one on 20 different college campuses across the state,"
Ceravole said. "Everything that we work on is a collaborative effort statewide."
Britney Nowak can be reached by email at nowak.record@live.com.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
Recent The Record News Articles
Students donate shoes, raise money for Boston bombing victims
Buffalo State's Evergreen program is teaming up with the nonprofit Herding for the Hurting in collecting donated shoes to raise money ...
Chartwells plans campus food truck
The food truck phenomenon has made its way to campus as the route, menu and name of a new Chartwells truck will be decided on by ...
USG sens motion 'no confidence'
Correction: In light of new information learned following the publishing of the original version of this story, The Record would like ...
Discuss This Article
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST THE RECORD NEWS
- We've Moved to www.buffstaterecord.com!
- Obama divulges new higher education initiative during visit to UB
- Ailing Podolefsky steps down as president
- SUNY appoints Cohen interim president
- President Podolefsky announces leave to fight cancer
- Rappers put Pepsi in a bind
- Congrats to grads: take next step with gratitude
RECENT THE RECORD CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- A Story To Sing About
- The Gap in Gum Care: Why Caring For Your Teeth’s F...
- Top Tips for Signature Scents and Better-Smelling Laundry
- A Dog Trainer’s Top Tips to Support Pets Through Life S...
- Clear the Air of Indoor Pollutants This Spring
- Stroke & Dementia in Black Men: Tips for Staying Healthy...
- Hispanics and African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye...
- African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye Disease
- Infinity Kings: Final Book In A Favorite Fantasy Series
- What You Need To Know About Keratoconus and the iLink...
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- No Child is Forgotten By Marine Toys for Tots
- Sweeten Your Springtime Salads With Healthy Chilean Grapes
- Young Author Translates 4,000-Year-Old Text to Reveal...
- Keeping Cool and Energy-efficient Amid America’s “...
- Addressing Sarcopenia with a Healthy Diet
- Subway’s New Wraps Elevate Eating on the Go
- Family Teacher Conference Topics Beyond Academics
- Youth Take Down Tobacco
- BookTrib’s Bites: Four Reads to Kickoff Spring
- Curbing Colorectal Cancer in Minority Populations
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- Semiconductor Research Corp unveils 2024 Research Call, $13.8M Funding
- Charles River Associates Opens Second Scholarship Cycle, Expands to the UK
- BLUMHOUSE AND AMC THEATRES LAUNCH FIRST-EVER HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN FILM FESTIVAL
- THE GEN Z IMPERATIVE: LISTEN TO FEELINGS AND GIVE GEN Z A VOICE
