Every Alabamian knows about the Iron Bowl, but football isn’t the only way Auburn and Alabama face off in November.
Since 1993, Auburn University and the University of Alabama (UA), two of college football’s fiercest rivals, have competed to see who can raise more canned foods for the hungry.
The universities collected food from September 17 to November 17 and announced the results of this year’s food drive at the West Alabama Food Bank on Friday, November 18.
This year’s victor was UA’s Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger, which brought in a total of 565,983 pounds of food. UA set a new record, toppling its previous record of 319,437 pounds in 2021.
But Auburn’s Beat Bama Food Drive (BBFD) also put up big numbers. Auburn finished the drive with 516,611 pounds of food.
Together, the two universities produced over 1 million pounds of food.
The food Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger raised will go to the West Alabama Food Bank, whereas the food BBFD raised will go to the Food Bank of East Alabama (FBEA), supplying food to families across Alabama.
“Food insecurity is not an issue that can be solved by one person overnight — it takes the constant commitment of fellow neighbors advocating for and supporting those in need,” said Beat Auburn Beat Hunger team leader, Kate Graziano.
“Beat Bama Food Drive truly changes the lives of so many people,” said Paige Hall, the president of Beat Bama Food Drive. “Each month, the [FBEA] pushes out about 500,000 lbs of food to people who need it. BBFD’s contribution of 550,117 lbs of food to the FBEA is the largest food drive ever for them, and that is a big deal. We are incredibly thankful for the support of the Auburn family for the donations contributed to BBFD’s efforts, and while we did not Beat Bama this year, the state of Alabama wins. Over 1 million meals were provided to those in need, and the real winners of this friendly competition are the hungry people who will be fed due to our fundraising.”
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