The official Make a Difference Day for 2016 is scheduled Oct. 22, but students at Lakeland Community College are devoting Oct. 24 and 25 to the cause. Lakeland’s AmeriCorps coaches, Marrisa Jones and Maya Evans, are partnering with student club Actively Caring for People to raise awareness of the issues surrounding hunger in America. They will be manning an information table from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the college’s S-Building Atrium, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland, 44094.

With over 16 percent of American households routinely going without nutritious food, this event is designed to bring attention to the issue and encourage people to get involved in finding solutions to the challenges in their own communities.

In addition to the information table, the group will be hosting a campus food drive with donations going to the McKinley Community Outreach Center in Willoughby.

Items such as peanut butter, jelly, tuna, chicken noodle and tomato soups, canned corn, juices, cereal, macaroni and cheese as well as dog and cat foods are commonly needed and greatly appreciated by hunger centers. More items on the McKinley Community Outreach Center wish list can be found at http://www.mckinleycenter.org/list-of-donations-accepted.html.

For more information about food insecurity in the U.S., visit http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx.

By: Colleen Marble, Marketing Communications Spcls