THIBODAUX – Faculty and staff members at Nicholls State University have launched “Nicholls CAN!” – a non-perishable food drive for the benefit of local food banks. Donation boxes will be in various area businesses as well as throughout the Nicholls campus from Friday, March 9, to Friday, March 23.
“The plan is to conduct the food drive twice a year, tentatively in the weeks before spring break and the weeks before Thanksgiving,” Jean Donegan, Nicholls CAN! committee member and head of the Nicholls Department of Art, said. “There are six food banks in the surrounding areas and we will rotate between them, choosing three banks for each drive.”
Donegan said that in 2011, the number of people who accessed the services of the Thibodaux Food Bank rose to 3,467 – a 30-percent increase since 2010.
“The need is therefore very real,” she said. “Hopefully, in the future, the Nicholls CAN! project will become as familiar to our students and the surrounding area as Crawfish Day or Family Day.”
For additional information, or to inquire about having a collection box and poster delivered, call Donegan at 985-448-4597 or Debbie Raziano, director of alumni affairs, at 985-448-4111.