Joe Hannon, a Howick residence assistant, said he thought of the idea for the food drive as a way to bring his students together and give back to Muncie at the same time.
"I just thought the guys on the floor might want to play video games," Hannon said. "But I really wanted to do something to help out the community."
While several students were fighting each other in "Super Smash Bros.," others came and gave their spare food items and cash donations as well. Hannon said all the proceeds would be given to The Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, a local food bank that gives food and services to Muncie and its surrounding counties.
Hannon said he enjoys working with food banks because "it's more than just food." He said he loves that Second Harvest gives resources to the local citizens who need it most.
According to feedingamerica.org, Second Harvest Food Bank, located in Muncie, currently distributes 6,678,045 meals each year to families in East Central Indiana.
Cade Heaton, a freshman political science major, attended the event without actually knowing it was a food drive. He said he had seen flyers on his floor but just thought it was a video game party.
Despite not having any cans available in his dorm room to donate, Heaton said he gladly gave a monetary donation to Hannon to help out Second Harvest as much as he could.
Heaton said he had heard of Second Harvest through other canned food drives at Ball State, but he especially liked the idea his resident assistant had for the video game drive.
"I think that it's really neat," Heaton said. "And it's always fun to bring our hall together."
Hannon, a sophomore biochemistry and pre-med major, said his inspiration for creating this food drive was from his previous experiences with food banks in his hometown of Elkhart, Ind., and his work as vice president of the Ball State Student Honors Council.
The Student Honors Council has focused on service projects for this school year, including doing "random acts of kindness" around the community and collecting food for Second Harvest Food Bank, Hannon said.
Hannon said he's enjoyed his work with the local community so far and plans on continuing to do whatever he can to help raise up Muncie. But he also wants to inspire others to do the same.
"It's always important to build up a community wherever you are," Hannon said. "It takes time, but you should do whatever you can.”
Hannon said he dreams of a unified Ball State and Muncie, not just a college that separates itself from its city. He said he hopes President Paul W. Ferguson's push to involve Ball State further into the Muncie community makes progress soon, and more students begin reaching out to the whole city.
"People discount Muncie, but it has potential," Hannon said. "It can be what you make it."
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