Alamance Community College Wins $10,000 to Fund Feeding Hungry Minds Program

Alamance Community College in Graham has been named Grand Champion of the North Carolina Collegiate Hunger Challenge and received a $10,000 grand-prize grant to support the college’s Feeding Hungry Minds program, making ACC the first community college to ever win the Grand Champion title.

The award was presented to Alamance Community College on Feb. 11 during North Carolina Campus Engagement’s Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement Conference at Elon University in Elon, N.C. The Challenge is sponsored by Food Lion Feeds and North Carolina Campus Engagement.

“College students continue to demonstrate what’s possible when the passion to nourish our neighbors meets purpose,” said Kevin Durkee, Manager, Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion. “This annual competition highlights the leadership, creativity and commitment of students who are taking action to support their peers and strengthen their campus communities.” Food Lion Feeds and NCCE partnered to provide prize money and support for campus food-access efforts.

The competition ran from Sept. 8 to Dec. 19, 2025, when 14 North Carolina colleges and universities competed by earning points through food drives, pantry projects, educational events and awareness-building initiatives. Each participating school received $500 to host their hunger awareness events, and student ambassadors were paid stipends to lead local activities.

ACC students participated in 11 different events during the Challenge, including three food drives, interactive activities at college fairs, meal plating sessions and representing the college with a float in the Burlington Christmas Parade. Those efforts collected over 7,000 items to support ACC’s two food pantries, helped distribute free meals to students and fostered a greater sense of campus pride, and led ACC to earn the Most Food Collected bonus award.

The $10,000 grand-prize grant will fund the Feeding Hungry Minds program at ACC and is earmarked to expand the college’s two food pantries, introduce refrigerated goods, support programming to raise awareness of food insecurity and help distribute free meals to students on campus.

North Carolina Campus Engagement’s winners list shows Alamance Community College as Grand Hunger Champion with the $10,000 prize. NCCE’s Challenge Winners 2025 also names NC Central University as UNC System Sector Champion with $5,000 and Catawba College as Private/Independent Sector Champion with $5,000. NCCE listings include additional recognitions such as Most Innovative Event - NC Central University, Most Educational Impact - Warren Wilson College, and Social Media Bonus - NC Central University, as well as Spring 2025 Food Pantry Capacity Grants of $1,000 each to campuses including Central Piedmont Community College, UNC School of the Arts, Western Carolina University, William Peace University and Winston-Salem State University.

A photo published with coverage of the award identifies, from left, Beth Brehler, Darsell Hadley, Jenny Brownell, Hayden King, Bella Ferreira, Gilbert Umberger and Jennifer Mock. With the grant focused on refrigeration and expanded pantry capacity, ACC officials say Feeding Hungry Minds will move from short-term food drives to bolstering steady access to perishable and nonperishable foods for students across the Graham campus.