Ducks of a feather flock together.

That classic (albeit slightly edited) idiom is the standard by which UO employees, students and Duck fans engage in the community, and it’s why the university has always worked to provide a stable food source for its neighbors and fellow Lane County residents.

That effort was recognized this month by FOOD for Lane County with the 2014 Justice of Eating Award, which acknowledges the ongoing generosity of UO students, staff and fans that has been a staple in the organization’s hunger-fighting efforts for more than two decades.

Since 1992 the UO community has donated 3,488,000 pounds of food to the organization, which translates to a dollar equivalent of $4,848,320, according to Beverlee Hughes, FOOD for Lane County’s executive director. That number stems from multiple food rescue operations that the UO organizes each year.

“The University of Oregon has been in the No. 1 spot of all state agencies in Lane County for raising the most funds, and they consistently meet or beat their previous record every year,” Hughes said of various food drives put on by the university.

The UO’s award recognizes all food rescue operations, such as donations from housing, catering services and the central kitchen, contributions from the concession stands at athletic and tabling events and the Spring Scrimmage food drive as well as the annual Governor’s Challenge State Employee Food Drive.

“The award is a public acknowledgement of the partnership the UO has with the community, and in particular our friends and neighbors who are in need of food for themselves and for their families,” said Karen Scheeland, the executive assistant to the vice president for advancement at the university.

“This award reflects on those who receive it, but more to the point, it shines out as a beacon of all the good that FOOD For Lane County tirelessly achieves,” she said.

Much of the hard work can be attributed to Tim Powers, the food rescue driver who nominated the university for the award. And the Division of Student Life, which includes housing, is one of the lead departments in the food rescue effort.

The various campus food rescue operations are facilitated by Tom Driscoll, director of food service and associate director of housing at the UO. Of course, he acknowledges that it is the continuous efforts of students, vendors, UO staff and FOOD for Lane County employees such as Powers that really help individuals and families in need.

“We are proud to have such a positive impact on the local community,” Driscoll said.

—By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications intern