University Times

The annual Pitt Scouts for Food drive, which is part of the national Scouting for Food effort conducted by the Boy Scouts of America, will run through April 30. Pitt's efforts are coordinated by the Volunteer Pool and Student Volunteer Outreach program.

All local donations are delivered to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne, where they are distributed through a network of local food banks and pantries. All participants are volunteers, and all publicity, printing, packing boxes and bags are donated.

Items being sought during the food collection drive include canned goods, especially stews, tuna and meat; baby formula and food; packaged meals; cereals, and chunky-style soups. Household items such as paper products, soaps and cleaners also are needed.

During last year's drive, Pitt staff, faculty and students collected an all-time high of more than 120,000 units of canned goods.

Food items are assigned a unit value of points based on general nutritional value, Pitt food drive coordinator Steve Zupcic said. The goal for this year's campaign is 125,000 units of food.

Regionally, more than $5 million worth of food was collected last year.

According to organizers of the food drive, hunger is a serious local problem. Estimates are that 1 in 4 children in the City of Pittsburgh is hungry or in serious danger of being hungry; the statistics for the county indicate that 1 in 7 children face hunger regularly.

In addition to the Boy Scouts and Pitt, the food drive effort includes the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and more than 400 Pittsburgh companies, universities, labor unions, law and accounting firms and governmental agencies. Organizers say Pittsburgh is the leading American city for per capita involvement.

All University staff and faculty who are involved in Scouting or are parents of Scouts are asked to contact the Pitt Scouts for Food 2000 hotline at 624-7709. They will be asked to play a role in the campaign and the "thank you" reception in June.

To join in the effort, employees and students should bring canned goods to collection sites around the University.

There will be collection sites at many University departments. Some general collection sites include:

* All University Library System circulation desks, including Hillman Library.

* Biomedical Science Tower, entrance lobby.

* Cathedral of Learning, ground floor elevator lobby.

* Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering lobby.

* Craig Hall lobby.

* Graduate School of Public Health lobby.

* Law School lobby.

* Masonic Temple lobby.

* Posvar Hall, main floor.

* Scaife Hall, 2nd and 4th floor lobbies.

* IS Building, 5th floor lobby.

* William Pitt Union, Fifth Avenue lobby information desk.

For more information on the food drive, contact the Pitt Scouts for Food 2000 hotline at 624-7709.