The Crosstown Foodout: Two Queen City rivals duke it out to support college food pantries

UC and Xavier have long been rivals on the court.  

But with the Crosstown Shootout, a near century-old tradition in Men’s College Basketball, just days away on Saturday, Dec. 10 in Fifth Third Arena, another, but friendly, rivalry between the two universities is now in place to help ease food insecurity.

The Crosstown Foodout allows fans of the Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers to compete by supporting a campus food pantry at each school. The Bearcat Pantry and Resource Center at UC is asking fans of either team to follow @bearcatspantry or @thestorexu on Instagram. Supporters can make a monetary donation or an Amazon Wishlist purchase by visiting www.uc.edu/bcp or www.xavier.edu/store. 

At UC, the Bearcat Food Pantry and Resource Center provides free food, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, diapers, wet wipes and professional clothing to students of all backgrounds with food and other insecurities. UC Blue Ash and UC Clermont both have pantry services as well. This semester alone the Bearcat Pantry and Resource Center has served 1,188 students.

BCP is located in Stratford Heights, Building #16 on the UC Uptown campus, 2634 Stratford Ave., and operates as a walk-in service.

The Store is Xavier's student-run food pantry, located in the Village yard and managed by Care Management Services. The Store provides food, hygiene and household products to all currently enrolled students at no charge. This semester, the Store has had 1,500 visits. The Store is located on 1401 Dana Avenue.

Daniel Cummins, associate dean of students at UC, says the Crosstown Foodout is a win-win for UC, Xavier and mostly important for students on both campuses. Cummins says fans of both schools can donate during the fun event or anytime during the year because the need to assist students is on going. Fans aren't just limited to just the Crosstown Foodout.

Cummins spoke with Cincinnati media for a story on the effort to raise awareness of food insecurity. Listen to and read the stories below.

Yahoo News

WCPO

Local 12

Fox 19

WLWT digital only

WLWT video

Spectrum News

Learn more about the Bearcat Pantry and Resource Center.

Feature image is of Idre'sia Leavell, a UC student worker, stocking the Bearcat Pantry and Resources Center. Photo provided.