All branches of NC State’s ROTC program are working with Move For Hunger, a nonprofit organization, to provide families in need with food. The first annual Fighting Hunger by Land, Air, and Sea food drive started Sunday and will run until Dec. 17. 

Andrew Medlin, a junior studying international studies, came up with the idea of the ROTC branches working together to run a food drive.

“As future naval officers, service to our community is something we all strive to accomplish,” Medlin said. “With the holiday season approaching quickly, we all remember those that will go without hot meals this year.”

Ashley Satterwhite, a junior studying fashion and textiles management, is the organizer for this event.

“I found Move for Hunger online and contacted the local unit,” Satterwhite said. “They have done a great job in helping create flyers, pair us with a mover, help provide advertising and generally support the entire project.”

Move for Hunger is a nonprofit organization that partners with businesses and schools all over North America to help transport nonperishable foods to food banks. 

The founder of Move for Hunger, Adam Lowry, got the idea of using moving trucks to transport non-perishables when he was working with his dad’s moving company in 2009. He noticed that people always left a lot of food behind and all of the food, most of the time, was thrown away. One day, he told his dad to drop the food off at a local food bank so it wouldn’t go to waste. 

“It was a simple, little thought like that that was essentially what is the driving force behind what the organization is all about,” said Joseph Raccuglia, a nonprofit management and communications intern at Move for Hunger. Raccuglia worked with Satterwhite in getting started with the food drive by setting up press releases and flyers and organizing with movers to transport the food to a local food bank. 

Raccuglia said Move for Hunger has been able to build up partnerships with movers and realtors during the years who help in taking all the food left over and moving them to pantries. 

“In a way, we’re essentially the facilitator and the middle ground between a moving company, a food bank and an organization doing the food drive,” Raccuglia said. “Even if they’re not one of our movers, we’ll call them and tell them who we are, what we do and then they usually drop the boxes off and pick them up a week after the drive is done to the food bank.”

Between the three branches and the help of the community, Satterwhite estimates Fighting Hunger by Land, Air, and Sea will collect at least 1,000 cans. She also said Excel Moving and Storage has provided the boxes and a truck. They will be transferring the canned food to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Each division of the ROTC branches will compete for more than a month to raise the most canned food. Satterwhite said when they find out which branch won the competition, the commanding officer will have the pleasure of throwing a pie at the other losing commanding officers at training.

As future naval officers, service to our community is something we all strive to accomplish.