UNC students will help nonprofit trick-or-treat for food

One Chapel Hill group will walk through local neighborhoods this Halloween asking not for candy, but for canned food.

The nonprofit organization TABLE, in collaboration with UNC student volunteers, will circulate through the Southern Village and Meadowmont neighborhoods dressed in costume and “trick-or-feed” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at UNC has also partnered with the organization for the event.

TABLE, founded in 2008 with a group of UNC undergraduates, serves food weekly to 87 elementary school students in five Chapel Hill and Carrboro after-school programs.

Last year’s pilot “trick-or-feed” effort collected more than a ton of food, said the nonprofit’s executive director, Joy MacVane.

“Hunger and poverty don’t play favorites,” MacVane said. “It doesn’t matter the demographic or the neighborhood.”

Every Friday, the organization stuffs backpacks with food collected from this program and others like it to send home with children at risk of hunger.

The students who receive this food are also eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the week.

The children also need food during weekends, over school breaks and summer vacation, and TABLE addresses this need, MacVane said.

About 26 percent of Chapel Hill and Carrboro students receive free or reduced-price meals. Last year, TABLE distributed 14,103 pounds of food to these students.

Elizabeth Weaver began as one of TABLE’s original volunteers and is now its campus outreach coordinator.

Forty-eight UNC students are regular volunteers with the organization, along with 19 additional team leaders.

Weaver said last year’s “trick-or-feed” event had around 40 or 50 volunteers, including those from InterVarsity.

“We think it’s a great cause that they’re involved with, getting food together for undernourished children,” said InterVarsity’s outreach coordinator, senior Adam Salloum.

“Part of our focus is social justice. That’s God’s heart, serving people that are in need.”

And that need might be felt now more than ever.

MacVane said the number of students served by TABLE has increased by 40 percent within the past few weeks.

“The need for food is skyrocketing, because the economy continues to be poor,” she said. “We’ve received so many requests from the after-school programs.

“There’s a dramatic increase in the need for food locally.”

Contact City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.