Athletics isn’t the only area in which MTSU has a competitive history with its fellow Conference USA members — the university wants to be the best at feeding the community, too!

The Middle Tennessee Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is urging Blue Raider fans to donate nonperishable food items in the 2017 C-USA Food Drive Challenge Nov. 1 through Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Donors can drop off food items at the following MTSU athletic events:

• MTSU volleyball vs. Austin Peay at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, in Alumni Memorial Gym.
• MTSU women’s basketball vs. Trevecca Nazarene, on Thursday, Nov. 2, time TBA, in Murphy Center. Donors who bring four or more items will receive a voucher for a “Buy One, Get One” ticket for MTSU’s C-USA home opener against UAB Jan. 6.
• MTSU men’s basketball vs. Arkansas State, time TBA Nov. 2 in Murphy Center. Donors who bring four or more items will receive a voucher for a “Buy One, Get One” ticket for MTSU’s C-USA game against Southern Mississippi Jan. 13.
• MTSU volleyball vs. Western Kentucky at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, in Alumni Memorial Gym.

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives will be at each event to collect donations. Items also can be dropped off at the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center, which is located alongside Gate 1 of Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium near the ticket office.

Other dropoff locations include the MTSU Student Food Pantry, which is located in the MT One Stop inside the Student Services and Admissions Center at the corner of MTSU Boulevard and Blue Raider Drive, and the Alumni House, located at 2259 Middle Tennessee Blvd.

All donations collected at MTSU will go to the Student Food Pantry and Greenhouse Ministries.

Suggested contributions include canned fruit, peanut butter, cereal, canned soup, canned chili, boxed meals, as well as small sealed toiletry items such as shampoo and soap.

During the 2016 food drive, C-USA schools collected a total of 52,713 pounds of food. MTSU placed third in last year’s competition.

For more information, contact Kristen Russell, coordinator of outreach and support programs, at 615-898-2808 or kristen.russell@mtsu.edu, or Todd Wyant, director of the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center, at 615-898-5610 or todd.wyant@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

Kristen Russell, left, coordinator of outreach and support programs at MT One Stop, packs up donations collected by MTSU Fraternity and Sorority Life in support of the university’s Student Food Pantry in this April 2017 file photos. Russell oversees pantry operations; helping her is MT One Stop secretary Tina Chevalier. The MTSU community can help the pantry and Greenhouse Ministries by donating nonperishable food items in the 2017 C-USA Food Drive Challenge Nov. 1-7. (MTSU file photo by Jimmy Hart)