BOISE, Idaho — Boise State University students packed ExtraMile Arena on campus Friday to pack roughly 100,000 meals for dozens of Idaho food pantries.
"Food insecurity is a major issue in Idaho," student Nick Lloyd said. "The meals will be distributed as far as Cascade and as close as our Boise State Food Pantry."
Lloyd is president of Beta Alpha Psi, the university's accounting and finance honors society. The society partners with Arkansas-based nonprofit, The Pack Shack, to run the annual event.
This was the third year, he said.
"[The society] spent around a year fundraising with different firms that we support around Boise," Lloyd said. "We've done pretty much everything except for bringing the ingredients in and actually running the hype of the event."
Hundreds of people volunteered — primarily students. That includes Samantha Linden, who spent some of the two hours taping boxes for the shelf-stable meals made of beans, chili powder, rice and a seasoning packet.
The meals are sealed in a plastic container. People who receive them just have to add hot water.
"Making an event like this puts dinner on the table at home and helps people, even college students that might not have access to food on a regular basis," she said. "I think it's important because it shows how much ... everyone can come together and really make a difference."
Data from Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization, shows more than 220,000 Idahoans were food insecure in 2022, which is roughly 11% of the state.
"Our mission as Beta has always been food insecurity, and so, this event was a direct target to beat that," Lloyd said.
BSU President Marlene Tromp said she is proud of everyone who participated and that the event highlights what Broncos stand for.
"It's a testament to the extraordinary generosity of our students and their willingness to take time out of their busy schedules and to come down here," she said. "We're very fortunate to have the kind of students that want to make a positive difference in people's lives."
Lloyd hopes the event gets bigger and better every year.
"It's something that we've been meaning to make it a staple in the voice community for a long time," he said, "and this is the first year that I feel like we really have the macro impact we wanted to have."
For people who are interested in participating next year, here is a signup form.