A Rivalry for a Cause

Last year, Androu Luzader ('25) was serving on the Cougar Food Pantry Student Advisory Board when he had an idea. He had friends who also worked at the UW food pantry, and together they proposed a fundraising challenge centered around the Apple Cup. Their goal was to harness the school spirit that emerges during the Apple Cup to promote alumni giving to each university’s food pantry. This friendly competition focused on beating hunger for university students across the state.

The pilot year was a success, with over 117 gifts totaling $19,775 in support of the WSU Pullman and UW pantries. Cougs showed up strong, making 76 gifts and contributing more than $17,000! We're asking you to join the competition again this year—and to challenge your friends and family in the Coug community to join you too.

With 2 out of every 5 university students—more than 40%—facing food insecurity, we aim to make an even greater impact this year. All six WSU campuses will benefit from this year's Apple Cup Food Pantry Challenge: Everett, Global, Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver. Funds raised through this campaign will be distributed to each pantry based on campus population.

During the 2024–2025 academic year, WSU campus pantries collectively facilitated over 58,000 student visits. The Pullman campus pantry alone distributed an average of 25,000 lbs of food per month. Even so, each campus must impose limits on the number of items, weekly visits, or grocery vouchers a student can receive. With your help, we can meet the growing need for these resources across all WSU campuses.

Join us in fighting food insecurity by making your gift today! The university that receives the most gifts between September 5 and Saturday, September 20 at midnight wins—but truly, whether you're a Coug or a Husky, we all win in the fight against food insecurity and for student success.