TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Beat Auburn Beat Hunger food drive at The University of Alabama is calling on the campus community to help out during the final days of the annual food collection competition that will end Thursday, Nov. 20.

All food collected in Beat Auburn Beat Hunger, sponsored at UA through the Community Service Center, will be donated to the West Alabama Food Bank.

As part of the final push to collect more food than Auburn University, the CSC is raffling off a new, fourth-generation iPod Nano to faculty and students who donate canned food during the last week of BABH.

Participants in the iPod raffle can bring 10 cans of food to the Ferguson Center Plaza on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, Nov. 17-19, between 3-5 p.m. and receive one raffle ticket to be placed into the drawing. Faculty and students can receive as many raffle tickets as sets of 10 cans donated. The drawing for the iPod will be Wednesday, Nov. 19 and the winner will be contacted by the CSC.

This year, organizers of the event say the downturn in the economy has been a factor. “We are fortunate to still have many of the same businesses and local organizations from last year donate again this year, but a lot of them are forced to give smaller donations to Beat Auburn Beat Hunger. I think the economy is a big part of this,” said Regina Pena, one of the BABH coordinators.

“At the Community Service Center, we’ve been encouraged by the generosity and the enthusiasm from the campus and the Tuscaloosa community as well as the alumni across the state. At this point in the drive, we don’t want people to forget about the significance of this program to those in need,” said Caitlin Looney, who coordinates BABH along with Pena.

For more information, contact Pena or Looney at 205/348-2865 or beatauburnbeathunger@gmail.com.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.