By Anne Cantrell MSU NEWS SERVICE
Montana State University and Gallatin Valley communities donated the equivalent of 652,876 pounds of food this holiday season to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and MSU’s Bounty of the Bridgers food pantry as part of the 25th annual Can the Griz food drive.
Can the Griz — and the corresponding Can the Cats food drive in Missoula — is an off-field competition between MSU and the University of Montana to see which school can collect the most donations for its local food bank. This year, MSU and the Gallatin Valley community won the contest.
MSU and the Gallatin Valley community donated 234,866 pounds of food and $418,010, according to Kim Cleary in the MSU Office of Student Engagement, which coordinates Can the Griz. Each dollar donated is counted as one pound of food for the contest, resulting in a total this year of 652,876 pounds for the Gallatin Valley community. The Can the Cats food drive in Missoula brought in the equivalent of 649,278 pounds of food for the Missoula Food Bank, Cleary said.
“We are so grateful to the community for supporting Can the Griz,” Cleary said. “At its core, this competition is about getting food on the tables of people in our community, and it has done just that; so many individuals and families will be fed thanks to the generosity of others. We offer our deepest thanks to all who contributed.”
Last year, MSU and Bobcat supporters donated the equivalent of 596,877 pounds of food to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank for the community, the result of combining pounds and dollars together for the contest, though Cleary noted it wasn’t enough to top UM’s corresponding food drive, which brought in 870,192 pounds. MSU and the Gallatin Valley community have won the competition 20 out of the 25 years it has been held.
Donations to Can the Griz help the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, as well as MSU’s Bounty of the Bridgers food pantry, year-round. The Gallatin Valley Food Bank is one of the HDRC Food and Nutrition Programs’ initiatives. Bounty of the Bridgers, housed in MSU’s Student Wellness Center, is a student-driven initiative to combat food insecurity for students, faculty and staff.
Donations to the food bank may still be made. Donation information is available at canthegriz.org.
