December 16, 2009 — Utah fans swept BYU by winning both the food and monetary donation portions of the annual Utah/BYU Rivalry Week Food Drive. Utah supporters donated $60,228 and 232,767 pounds of food, while BYU fans did their part in the fight against hunger by raising $55,285 and 162,318 pounds of food.

Ann Bardsley, this year’s U of U Alumni Association food drive committee chair, said the annual football game that this fundraiser is centered around was exciting and a battle, but when it comes to the food drive fans from both schools are friendly rivals.

“The Rivalry Week food drive brings an added dimension of fun and competition to game week. But, the best part of the food drive is knowing that through the combined efforts of the Alumni Associations at the U of U and BYU, increased numbers of people will be served by the food pantries this season,” said Bardsley.

Many other groups did their part in the fight against hunger. The University of Utah Alumni Association Board and the Student Alumni Board placed hundreds of food barrels on campus and throughout the university community. The University of Utah Campus Store raised over $10,000 through the sale of

Rivalry Week t-shirts, and another $4,000 through the sale of Block U cards at $1 each.

University of Utah Alumni Relations Director John Fackler says many other groups stepped up their participation during this record-setting year. “We need to thank a lot of people for this accomplishment, but especially the Utah Athletics Department, St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center, LDS Institute of Religion, Frito Lay, KFAN Radio and the many other businesses and organizations that contributed,” said Fackler.

All food and money collected by U of U supporters goes directly to the Utah Food Bank to be distributed to needy families across the state. BYU’s contributions go to the United Way Food Bank of Utah County.