When it comes to the issue of hunger and food scarcity, college campuses are no exception, but the students at Stony Brook have a plan to address this by meeting the needs of both their peers and the local community in Suffolk County.

Students for Humanity’s Umair Azhar, Stony Brook alum, with his younger brother Haseeb Azhar. 

Students for Humanity and Distressed Children & Infants International (DCI) partnered with the Faculty Student Association (FSA) to organize and host a Seawolves Food Drive. The event took place from November 8 through December 3. Students were able to use their Dining Dollars to purchase non-perishable items to donate to the Stony Brook University Food Pantry and Suffolk County Shelters.

“The food drive is important for students that can’t afford a meal. Almost every spring semester, the food drive has been able to fill the food pantry on campus to its full capacity. When this occurs, we take the remainder of the donations to homeless shelters and help people outside of the Stony Brook campus,” says Students for Humanity Co-President Zenat Khwaja ‘22, Health Science.

The idea for a food drive first emerged when former Students for Humanity President Umair Azhar ’19, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, was in his first semester at Stony Brook. It was the end of the semester, and Umair and his friends had some extra Dining Dollars. They went to the old Union Deli, bought 50 sandwiches, and took a train to the city, where they spent the whole day giving the sandwiches to those in need. Upon Umair’s graduation, the food drive was run by both his younger brother Haseeb Azhar and Yusra Abdurrob, former co-presidents of Students for Humanity.

The inspiration behind doing so emerges from Umair witnessing poverty first-hand in Pakistan. His younger brother, Haseeb Azhar ‘21, Civil Engineering, co-president of Students for Humanity, explains, “He saw kids begging on the street for food or money to help support their families. This inspired him to start the food drive and provide for those that are too scared to ask for help and let them know that they are not alone.”

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/community-outreach/seawolves-food-drive-works-to-turn-the-tables-on-hunger/