The George Mason Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will join together with the Colonial Athletic Association and member schools of the conference to hold the first conference-wide Food Drive Challenge this winter. Institutions have partnered with local food bank organizations and designated one day during the spring term, most in conjunction with athletics events, to collect nonperishable food items for the "competition". Mason will host the event on Saturday, February 23 at the men's basketball game versus William and Mary in the Patriot Center at 4 p.m. Bins will be located around the concourse of the Patriot Center for spectators to donate nonperishable food items.

The project not only provides an opportunity for student-athletes to compete in a non-athletic realm across campuses, but also allows institutions to address the need for donated food throughout their communities in an effort to stop hunger.

"The CAA Food Bank Challenge is another example of our student-athletes donating their time and energy to make positive contributions on campus and in the community," said CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager. "We hope people will support their efforts and contribute to this worthwhile initiative to help fight hunger."

A winner will be determined based on the number of pounds of nonperishable food collected by each institution. Monetary donations will be accepted and converted into pounds of food at a consistent rate as well. The CAA will announce the winner in March and CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager will present the winning institution with a trophy.

The idea for the challenge was developed during the CAA SAAC Leadership Summit last November. The student-athletes wanted to adopt a new community service initiative to participate in as a conference. For the past 11 years, the conference has successfully conducted the CAA Blood Challenge each Fall, which has resulted in nearly 37,000 units of blood.