Got food? Bring it for the hungry on Thursday, Nov. 7

Katie Couric TV show visits ASU to collect food for St. Mary’s Food Bank

Hey ASU and the surrounding community! Katie Couric’s ABC television show, “Katie, Talk That Matters,” is coming to the Tempe campus this Thursday, Nov. 7, to rally the community to collect non-perishable food for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance.

St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, the world’s first food bank, is a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization that alleviates hunger by gathering and distributing food to the hungry in Arizona.

The event takes place at 11 a.m., outside on the north end of the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus, and the entire ASU and surrounding community is encouraged to bring non-perishable food and be part of the show. It will air the week of Thanksgiving, details later to come.

If you can contribute food but can’t be at the event, collection bins are located at Changemaker Central locations on all campuses: the MU on the Tempe campus, first floor across from the information desk; the Career Preparation Center, room 110, in the Academic Center Building on the Polytechnic Campus; Post Office, room 104 on the Downtown Phoenix campus; and Verde Dining Pavilion Devil’s Den on the West Campus. Students and staff will make sure food gets on the truck.

The food collection is part of Katie’s Challenge for Change, a five-part series that will travel to five cities across the country, challenging communities to create changes both big and small.

With the help of special correspondent Cameron Hughes, sent by Katie, the show is reaching out to charitable organizations in each city’s surrounding neighborhoods to help them reach their goals for the holiday season and the New Year. 

“We’re looking to fill up soup kitchens, provide warm coats, shoes, thanksgiving meals, Christmas toys, clean up playgrounds, put beds in homeless shelters, raise money for worthy causes that are struggling and anything else we can do in the community to help. The idea being that with the help of the community, change can happen quickly,” said Josh Francis, senior associate producer. 

The first stop of the challenge is Phoenix and St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance. The challenge will be to fill up a truck and collect as much non-perishable food in a day as possible. Stops include ASU, as well as a few major grocery retailers in the area.

Let's show Katie and her viewers that ASU Sun Devils care about their community and are Changemakers!