Terps Against Hunger! (GD2022)

The Problem 

Approximately 1 in 6 people in the Washington D.C. area experience some form of food insecurity.  This can mean different things- no easy access to purchase food, no access to nutritious foods, or the inability to afford food in general.  For many people in the D.C. metropolitan area, these issues are unfortunately faced on a regular basis

Children often suffer the most.  D.C. has the highest rate of food insecurity for children, with approximately 30% of them living in food-insecure households.  Many of these children don't know when their next meal will be, or where it will come from.  

In total, around 85,000 people in D.C. are struggling with hunger.  Over 26,000 of these hungry individuals are children, who can not do much about it.  It is our goal to help provide nutritious and accessible meals to as many of these people, both children and adults, as possible.

What We Do 

To help combat this problem, our Founder, Jonathon Fix, started Terps Against Hunger in 2013.  We typically host meal packaging events about once a month, but sometimes have even more than this!  We continue to make new partnerships every year and continue to grow as an organization.   

Since 2013, we have hosted events in which students, faculty and staff, alumni, and many other volunteers come together and pack almost 3 million nonperishable meals together! So far this school year we have already packed 100,800 meals at our Homecoming event!  These meals that we package consist of rice, soy, veggies, and vitamins and minerals. They taste a bit like ramen noodles, but we promise they are much more nutritious! 

Not only do these events provide food security for many in the D.C. area, but they also educate our participants on the growing issues of local food insecurity and allow the students involved to develop leadership roles where they are truly making a difference.  We have also recently started hosting social events that allow our volunteers, both students and others, to come together and create lasting relationships with individuals they may not typically have the pleasure of meeting.    

How You Can Help

Each of the meals that we package costs roughly $0.10, this may not seem like a lot of money, but there is so much more that goes into them.  In order for our events to run smoothly, we have to rent rooms on campus for hours at a time, rent 18-wheeler trucks to transport our meals and supplies (which our students operate themselves!), and continually purchase the bags we package the meals in, boxes, tape, hairnets, gloves, scales, sealers, etc.  All of these essential ingredients and materials add up to a very expensive price tag! 

As our organization continues to grow, we are ecstatic at the thought that we will be able to help even more individuals in need.  In order for this to happen though, we have to be able to buy and/or rent all of the supplies needed to package more meals (especially at our upcoming Maryland Day event)!

Our amazing volunteers and donors are a huge part of what makes Terps Against Hunger so successful.  We truly could not help as many people as we do without your help.  Please consider donating to our organization where you will be helping us package tens of thousands of meals this upcoming Maryland Day!   We thank you in advance for your generosity and hope to see you at future events! 

Thank you and GO TERPS!

Emily W., Clarissa, and Emily J.

Co-Presidents and Fundraising Chair, Terps Against Hunger

Gifts in support of the University of Maryland are accepted and managed by the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, Inc., an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization authorized by the Board of Regents.  Contributions to the University of Maryland are tax deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax advisor for details.