by Xypher Pino

During halftime of the Greensboro College vs. Mary Baldwin University men’s basketball game on January 23, a celebration occurred, honoring the most recent hunger-relief efforts made on campus. Dubbed as the “Hunger Crowning Ceremony,” the Pride Pantry organized this event to celebrate a very successful semester of battling food insecurity on campus. 

The highlight of this event was the men’s lacrosse team being crowned as the “Souper Bowl Drive Champions.” Last semester, one of the mandatory events that the Pride Pantry hosted for the 2023 NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge was a souper bowl-themed food drive. To maximize the amount of donations that the food drive gets, the Pride Pantry team decided to make the food drive into a competition amongst all the sports teams on campus. Whichever sports team donated the most goods would be the team to receive the title of “Souper Bowl Drive Champions.” With 722 total items donated and an average of 22 items per athlete donated, the men’s lacrosse team won the competition, narrowly beating the women’s soccer team who donated a total of 687 items. 

To honor the men’s lacrosse team, the Pride Pantry awarded the team a trophy for their efforts with the words “Greensboro College 2023 Hunger Challenge Champions” etched on it. Though the trophy that they received does not amount to the generosity and time that they gave to the Pride Pantry, it forever remembers their huge accomplishment and shows that their kindness is much appreciated. 

When asked about his thoughts on being a Souper Bowl Drive Champion, senior lacrosse player Nathan Dupke stated, “It was great being able to lead a young group of guys to a huge cause like this. We are blessed to be able to take what God has given us and help others. We are grateful that we are able to give back in any way that we can.” 

The men’s lacrosse team was not the only thing that was celebrated during halftime. It was also announced that GC and the Pride Pantry came in first place in the 2023 NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge, winning the $10,000 grand prize of the competition. Led by Luke Butner and me, GC was able to beat out 11 other colleges during the challenge. By hosting a multitude of events and creating a plethora of social media posts, word about food insecurity spread all throughout campus and many hunger-relief efforts were made, all of it resulting in GC dominating the Collegiate Hunger Challenge. 

The last thing that was announced during the Hunger Crowning Ceremony was GC’s first place finish in the 2023 Cans Across the Conference, a competition amongst the campuses in the USA South Athletic Conference to see which school’s athletic program could collect the most food products. Organized by GC’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), GC was able to collect a total of 4204 items for this competition, accounting for 23 percent of the total donations made by every team in the competition. 

Coach Mallory Zelawski, faculty head of GC’s SAAC, had this to say about winning the 2023 Cans Across the Conference: “Winning Cans Across the Conference this fall was a big achievement for GC. We had not won since 2007, so it was gratifying to win after so much time, effort and energy had been put into organizing events on-campus and off-campus. It is incredibly rewarding to know that we were able to give back to the GC community by helping stock the Pride Pantry. I am proud of our SAAC representatives and admire the dedication of the student leaders who were part of this. It was exciting to have been part of such successful initiatives on campus.” 

The Hunger Crowning Ceremony highlighted all of GC’s most recent accomplishments relating to food insecurity. It was a much-needed event as these hunger-relief efforts needed to be acknowledged and celebrated. By hosting this event, the Pride Pantry hopes to not only motivate the individuals who are currently participating in hunger-relief efforts, but also to inspire others to join the fight against food insecurity.