The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), a student organization in the University of Memphis’ Department of Journalism and Strategic Media, is running a food drive from Nov. 11 to 16 out of the Meeman Journalism Building to aid hungry people of Memphis and leave a legacy of community outreach.
NABJ seeks to alleviate some of the widespread hunger in the Mid-South. The organization’s president, Kyland Evans, said NABJ recognizes many people are in critical need of food during the holiday season.
“We know that a lot of the time people are out here starving, especially during the winter,” Evans said. “They need at least some sustenance to get by, day by day, especially with items that are so cheap as canned goods or peanut butter or things of that nature.”
The NABJ food drive is an open event, allowing anyone to drop off acceptable foods such as canned fruit, beans or pasta into cardboard boxes set up in the journalism building main lobby. The event will go on all day, every day this week, until this Friday around 5 p.m. Then, the boxes will be collected and brought to Mid-South Food Bank for distribution.
Evans said the U of M’s chapter of the NABJ has a history of supporting the community and helping the Memphis area. He said as an organization with a journalistic foundation, NABJ reaches out to help the community in the same way that many media professionals promote public services.
“I think that some people tend to miss the fact that journalists help out in ways outside of media,” Evans said. “Very often you’ll see that journalists approve of doing the right thing, and so if they approve of doing the right thing, there’s nothing better than making an example out of themselves. It’s easier if you can practice what you preach.”
Around 40 percent of all food is uneaten each year in the United States, equaling approximately 20 pounds of food per person each month, according to the National Resources Defense Council, yet there are 40 million U. S. citizens who struggle with hunger every year, 12 million of which are children, according to Feeding America, an organization that works to get food to people who need it.
Evans said to combat the issue of hunger in the community, NABJ is asking for one can from each student who walks through the building. He said the potential number of cans that U of M students could contribute could have a lasting effect.
“If just one student gave a can, it would be incredible the impact we’d have on the city of Memphis,” Evans said. “A lot of times you’ll hear people say, ‘Man, it’s terrible about the people that are starving in Memphis,’ but they haven’t donated in five or six years because they haven’t been mandated to do so.”
NABJ member Malcolm Lane said he agreed with Evans. Lane said with the food drive open all week, and that canned goods are so cheap and available, there is almost no excuse as to why someone could not donate.
“They’re collecting dust in our pantries, so why not give it to someone who actually needs it?” Lane said.
Lane said the food drive is especially important for NABJ because it represents who they are as an organization and how they want to be remembered.
“It’s not just because we’re black journalists or the minority,” Lane said. “It’s because we actually care about everyone individually. We are still human, and we still put ourselves in the human perspectives of everyone else.”
The National Association of Black Journalists is currently running a food drive in the Meeman Journalism building. This food drive will continue until Nov. 16.
