Trick or Eat: UB Students to Participate in Annual Halloween Food Drive to Scare Up 140,000 Meals

BUFFALO, N.Y. -– When the door opens this Halloween, people may find a 20-year-old goblin on their doorstep who is definitely not your typical trick-or-treater.

Underneath that costume is a student from the University at Buffalo, and he's not asking for candy. He's asking for a donation of non-perishable food to help Buffalo families who struggle to put food on the table.

UB students will join more than 6,000 youth across Canada and the U.S. who will dress up this Halloween and go door-to-door, saying: "Trick or Eat!"

Amherst is one of 55 communities (and is one of only three in the U.S.) participating in Trick or Eat.

"It is startling to hear that more than 1.8 billion pounds of food is distributed in the United States annually to over 23 million people in need, including 8 million children and 4 million seniors" says Stephen Shapiro, one of the students organizing the campaign at UB. "Trick or Eat is a fun and easy way for us to do something about that."

The goal this year's Trick or Eat is to raise 140,000 meals and an additional $20,000 in online donations that students are asking family and friends to make to increase their impact. As students canvass neighborhoods this Halloween, they will also be raising awareness about the reality that hunger exists in their own backyards.

All food collected locally this Halloween be donated to the Food Bank of Western New York and from there, distributed to the food pantries with the greatest need in the local community. Additional support is being provided by TOPS Friendly Markets, which donated bags that will be used to collect the non-perishables.

Trick or Eat is one of several initiatives organized by a national youth-driven charity called Meal Exchange, which helps young Canadians and Americans realize their potential to improve the future of communities through meaningful opportunities to reduce local hunger. More information can be found at http://www.mealexchange.com.

For more information, contact Terri Budek, UB Trick or Eat coordinator, at 645-6469 or tfrysh@buffalo.edu.