MATTER is excited to partner once again with General Mills Foodservice to engage college students and volunteers in a mass, two-day MATTERbox packing event to activate healthy eating in communities across the country.
Last year’s inaugural event was a huge success. 50 college campuses in 26 states held packing events on their campuses resulting in thousands of MATTERboxes being distributed into their communities.
Based on the enthusiastic response last year, participation in this year’s event on March 27 and 28 has doubled to 100 campuses in 34 states! Hundreds of students and volunteers are gearing up once again to do good in their communities. Each campus will pack 200 MATTERboxes containing two snack packs each, resulting in 44,000 individual snack packs being distributed to nonprofits, schools, community programs and health care providers nationwide.
“It has been so inspiring to see college students come together and join forces with other campuses nationwide to do an act of good in their communities. We are proud to work in partnership with MATTER and expand our effort and impact even more communities this year.” Allison Curran, senior marketing manager, General Mills Foodservice
MATTERbox snack packs are filled with healthy food generously donated by General Mills, including Whole Grain Cheerios and Nature Valley Bars. In addition to food, each snack pack comes with a nutrition education card as well as a personalized handwritten YouMATTER note of encouragement written to the recipient.
One of the campuses that took part in the last year’s event and will participate again this year is the University of Miami. The MATTERboxes they packed were distributed to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami in Florida, which made a post of the distribution on their Facebook page. Photos of smiling children eagerly receiving their boxes accompanied a heartfelt message of thanks:
“Thank you to University of Miami for providing these wonderful MATTERboxes to our kids at BBBSM Center for Excellence programs! Such a special after school surprise with a box full of healthy snack choices and information for our kids and their families! U made them all very happy!”
For a taste of the enthusiasm at the packing events and the tremendous impact the MATTERboxes bring to local communities, check out this video of last year’s inaugural event!
MATTER thanks the following colleges and universities for participating in this year’s event to activate healthy eating in your communities!
ARKANSAS, Fayette – University of Arkansas
ALABAMA, Montevallo – University of Montevallo
ALABAMA, Florence – University of North Alabama
CALIFORNIA, Vallejo – CSU Cal Maritime Academy
CALIFORNIA, Turlock – CSU Stanislaus
CALIFORNIA, San Jose – San Jose State University
CALIFORNIA, San Luis Obispo – CSU Cal Polytechnic
CONNECTICUT, Willimantic – Eastern Connecticut State University
CONNECTICUT, New Haven – Southern CT State University
CONNECTICUT, Fairfield – Sacred Heart University
CONNECTICUT, Hamden – Quinnipiac University
FLORIDA, Deland – Stetson University
FLORIDA, Jacksonville – University of North Florida
FLORIDA, Jupiter – Florida Atlanta University
FLORIDA, Miami – Florida International University
FLORIDA, Ft. Lauderdale – Nova Southeastern
FLORIDA, Ft. Meyers – FGCU
FLORIDA, Jacksonville – University of North Florida
FLORIDA, Coral Gabels – University of Miami
IDAHO, Pocatello – Idaho State University
ILLINOIS, Chicago – University of Illinois at Chicago
ILLINOIS, Chicago – IIT
ILLINOIS, Chicago – DePaul
ILLINOIS, Evanston – Northwestern
ILLINOIS, Evanston – Northwestern #2
KANSAS, Wichita – Wichita State College
INDIANA, Indianapolis – IUPUI
KANSAS, Hays – Fort Hays State University
KENTUCKY, Highland Heights – Northern Kentucky University
LOUISIANA, Baton Rouge – Louisiana State University
MASSACHUSETTS, Babson Park – Babson College
MASSACHUSETTS, N Dartmouth – UMass Dartmouth
MASSACHUSETTS, Boston – Mass College of Art
MASSACHUSETTS, Boston – International Village @ Northeastern University
MASSACHUSETTS, Boston – International Village @ Northeastern University
MASSACHUSETTS, Salem – Salem State University
MASSACHUSETTS, Worcester – Worcester State
MARYLAND, Baltimore – UMBC
MARYLAND, Towson – Towson University
MARYLAND, Frostburg – Frostburg State University, Chesapeake Dining Hall
MICHIGAN, Rochester – Oakland University
MICHIGAN, Ypsilanti – Eastern Michigan University
MINNESOTA, St. Cloud – St. Cloud State University
MINNESOTA, Winona – Winona State University
MISSOURI, Springfield – Missouri State University
MISSOURI, Cape Girardeau – Southeast Missouri State
NORTH CAROLINA, Louisburg – Louisburg College
NORTH CAROLINA, Charlotte – Queens University
NORTH DAKOTA, Bismark – University of Mary
NEBRASKA, Wayne – Wayne State University
NEW HAMPSHIRE, Plymouth – Plymouth State University
NEW HAMPSHIRE, Keene – Keene State College
NEW JERSEY, Rutherford – Felician University
NEW JERSEY, Montclair – Montclair State University
NEW JERSEY, Galloway – Stockton University
NEW YORK, Jamaica – St. John’s University
NEW YORK, Purchase – Purchase College
NEW YORK, Hempstead – Hofstra University
NEW MEXICO, Albuquerque – University of New Mexico
NORTH CAROLINA, Mars Hill – Mars Hill University
NORTH CAROLINA, Asheville – UNC Asheville
NORTH CAROLINA, Charlotte – UNC Charlotte
NORTH CAROLINA, Charlotte – UNC Charlotte #2
NORTH CAROLINA, Greensboro – UNC Greensboro
NEVADA, Reno – University of Nevada, Reno
NEW YORK, Buffalo – Buffalo State College
NEW YORK, New Rochelle – Iona College
NEW YORK, Rochester – St. John Fisher College
NEW YORK, Pleasantville – Pace University
NEW YORK, Queensbury – SUNY Adirondack
OHIO, Bowling Green – BGSU
OHIO, Bowling Green – BGSU #2
OHIO, Dayton – Wright State University
OHIO, Cleveland – Cleveland State University
OKLAHOMA, Edmond – University of Central Oklahoma
OREGON, Portland – Portland State University
PENNSYLVANIA, Shippensburg – Shippensburg University
PENNSYLVANIA, Wilkes-Barre – Kings College
PENNSYLVANIA, Pittsburgh – Carnegie Melon
TENNESSEE, Cookeville – Tennessee Tech University
TEXAS, College Station – Texas A&M University
TEXAS, College Station – Texas A&M University #2
TEXAS, Corpus Christi – Texas A&M Corpus Christi
TEXAS, Galveston – Texas A&M Galveston
TEXAS, San Marcos – Texas State University
TEXAS, Houston – University of Houston
TEXAS, Houston – University of Houston #2
TEXAS, Richardson – University of Texas at Dallas
TEXAS, Arlington – University of Texas at Arlington
TEXAS, Abilene – Abilene Christian University
TEXAS, San Angelo – Angelo State University
TEXAS, Denton – Texas Woman’s University
TEXAS, Beaumont – Lamar University
TEXAS, Kerrville – Schreiner University
UTAH, Cedar City – Southern Utah University
UTAH, Salt Lake City – University of Utah
WASHINGTON, Seattle – Seattle University
WISCONSIN, La Crosse – University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse
WISCONSIN, River Falls – University of Wisconsin, River Falls
