Kellogg’s challenges Wooster in donation-matching program
The College of Wooster is teaming up with the Kellogg’s Food Away From Home program. For the remainder of the month, the College and Kellogg’s have committed to donate thousands of servings of cereal to a local food bank ó for every bowl of Kellogg’s cereal consumed in Lowry Dining Hall during the month of April, Kellogg’s will donate a bowl to the Akron-Canton Food Bank.
Tony the Tiger himself came to the College at the beginning of April to kick off the Kellogg’s program. He made an appearance in Lowry and in Kittredge on April 1, to the surprise of those dining at the time of his arrival. The stunt was pulled in order to get students to realize that their dining options had become less limited in terms of cereal because of the additional Kellogg cereal. Students not only got a photo opportunity with the dressed up Tony the Tiger, they also were filled in on what the cereal program actually means.
The slogan of the campaign is “Choose Kellogg’s and Help Fight Hunger.”
According to the vice president of corporate social responsibility for Kellogg Company, “Kellogg has supported food banks across the U.S. for nearly 30 years. On average, the company donates $20 million of products annually. Our partnership with The College of Wooster and the Akron-Canton Food Bank is an example of our continued commitment to helping those challenged in these economic times.”
The College of Wooster is the third college in the country to participate in this program. It is the first college of its size as well as the first college in the state of Ohio to team up with Kellogg’s to fight hunger on a national level. While the program was designed for large schools like the University of Virginia, where the program commenced, the on-campus population supplements that issue. Wooster is a predominately residential campus, so the dining facilities are constantly in use. Large schools or metropolitan schools would not fare as well as Wooster because fewer students eat in the dining hall.
Students at the College are very supportive of the new program. Seamus Sands ’12 said, “I really believe that it is brilliant how we can have a bowl of cereal in the morning of delicious Kellogg’s and still be helping to feed people. This gives me a great feeling of joy to start the day with.”
The College will be doing the matching program with Kellogg’s until the end of April. Their cereal distributors will remain on campus through the next academic year. As of now, the donation campaign appears to be a one-time event, but, if sucessful, it is possible that the College will be invited to participate again next year.