Updated 1 p.m. Nov. 29: The campus community is invited to sponsor gifts for the children of UC Davis students through a holiday drive being conducted by the Women’s Resources and Research Center. Interested participants are asked to sign up by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 30), by selecting the number of children and age ranges they’d like to sponsor. Organizers will then match participants and families; gifts must be dropped off at the center, 113 North Hall, by Friday, Dec. 9.

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The results are in from the 2022 Holiday Food Drive — and it was another great collection on both sides of the causeway!

Mail Services, which has been running the two-campus drive since 2005, reported collecting 2,275 pounds of food and other essentials on the Davis campus, for donation to the ASUCD Pantry, which serves students in need. The collection total was the second highest in the drive’s history. Two more benefits for The Pantry are coming up. See how you can help, below.

The UC Davis Health collection was the fourth highest ever: 1,614 pounds, for donation to the UC Davis Health Pantry, which provides food and essentials to the UC Davis Health community.

The grand total: 3,889 pounds, second highest total ever. “We are very pleased with this year’s total, especially considering how many folks are working remotely,” said Crystal Ross O’Hara, speaking for Supply Chain Management, which includes Mail Services.

Next on the Davis campus, Mail Services will be collecting new, unwrapped toys, Nov. 28-Dec. 9, for the Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program benefiting children up to age 16 in Yolo County. Simply leave your donations with your outgoing mail, place toys in one of the blue collection barrels around the campus or deliver to Mail Services, 615 Hopkins Drive, during normal business hours.

Discount alert for AggieSurplus during its monthly in-person shopping days, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 1 and 2: Donate a toy to the campus’s Toys for Tots drive to receive 10% off your entire purchase, donate two or more toys to receive 25% off your entire purchase. (Discounts apply to in-store shopping only and do not include wall art. Maximum $100 discount per person.) AggieSurplus offered similar discounts Nov. 3-4 for donations of food and other essentials for The Pantry — and collected 200 pounds worth of goods.

More help for The Pantry

NIGHT TO END CAMPUS HUNGER — This third annual benefit for The Pantry and the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center.will be held Thursday, Dec. 1, at the ASUCD Coffee House, featuring a buffet meal with a “fine-dining feel,” accompanied by a silent auction.

The affair will begin at 5 p.m. with appetizers, wine and beer, and the auction of such items as wine tasting tours, hotel stays and campus goodies. A program will start at 6 p.m. with a keynote address by Janet Reilly, a member of the UC Board of Regents.

The buffet (menu below), from 6:20 to 7 p.m. will be prepared by full-time Coffee House staff, with food donated by CoHo vendors and the Student Farm. Guests will dine at tables with white linens, china, glassware and centerpieces.

THE MENU

• Chicken Breast in Tomato Garlic Pesto Sauce
• Tri Tip with Balsamic Bardelaise
• Veggie “Chicken” Breast with Marinara Sauce
• Roasted Potato Medley
• Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Rice Blend
• Seasonal Veggies
• Garden Salad
• Dessert, Coffee and Tea

Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased online. Space is limited; reserved seating available with purchase of multiple tickets. Questions about Night to End Campus Hunger? Send them by email.

STUFF THE BUS — Sixth annual Unitrans event, co-sponsored by the Davis Food Co-op and benefiting The Pantry. Look for one of the campus-city transit system’s vintage London double-decker buses in the parking lot of the Davis Food Co-op, 620 G St., from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, waiting to be filled with your donations of food and other essentials. Plan some extra time so you and the kids can climb to the top floor of the bus. Also, the first 50 donors will receive Unitrans passes good for 10 free rides.

See box below for what The Pantry needs. For donors’ convenience, the Davis Food Co-op will offer prepacked bags of groceries and other items — bags you can buy at the checkout stands, and staff will deliver the bags to the bus.

WHAT THE PANTRY NEEDS

Abigail Nonnarath, director of The Pantry, provided this updated list, starting with high priority items.

• Toiletries and hygiene products (high priority)
• Easy grab-and-go snacks (high priority)
• Canned, ready-to-eat meals
• Cooking utensils
• Healthy snacks
• Gluten-free foods
• Canned soups
• Peanut butter
• Jams
• Fruit juice
• Baby formula
• “Pretty much anything that’s reasonably healthy, we’ll take it!”
• Monetary donations

“Things we’d like to avoid,” Nonnarath said: “Sugary foods and ‘junk food.’”