Good Neighbor Day Collecting Food for Pantries Now

Good Neighbor Day is getting a head start with a campuswide food drive.

The eighth annual community day of service, hosted by the university, the city of College Park and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

This day of service begins with an opening ceremony held at the College Park Community Center and continues at service projects that unify Greater College Park to achieve the common goal of beautifying shared community spaces.

“The support we receive for this event is remarkable. Each year we have more and more volunteers interested in participating, which has allowed us to make big impacts in our shared community,” said Sarah D’Alexander, event producer of Good Neighbor Day.

Organizers anticipate 900 volunteers, the largest number in the event’s history. In addition to UMD students, staff, faculty, and alumni, volunteers will include elected officials, city residents, and community youth uniting to complete over 20 service projects throughout the Greater College Park community.

Since 2012, the annual food drive has collected approximately 10,000 pounds of food to benefit the UMD Campus Pantry and the College Park Community Food Bank. This year, nearly 50 food-collection sites are available across UMD and the city. Food drive box locations can be found here.

Other Good Neighbor Day projects will include community cleanups, tree planting at Lake Artemesia, meal packing with Terps Against Hunger, free translation services to community organizations through Terps Translate, landscape enhancement at Paint Branch Elementary, invasive species removal at Sentinel Swamp Sanctuary and more. Volunteers can register to participate here.