Springfest, Trojan Pantry partner to fight hunger


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This year’s Springfest will include stricter regulations for students attending, as well as a canned food drive for students to donate vegetarian food to the Trojan Food Pantry. (Sarah Johnson | Daily Trojan)

Springfest, the annual music and arts concert hosted by USC Concerts Committee, announced on its Facebook page last Thursday that students who bring two canned goods to the festival between 3 and 7 p.m. will gain entrance through a fast-pass lane. They will also be entered in a raffle for a chance to win two passes to local music festivals Stagecoach or Just Like Heaven.

“We worked with [Goldenvoice] for [Springfest] to get tickets for Stagecoach and Just Like Heaven, and we decided rather than giving them away like we normally do, which is by running some sort of contest, that we would tie it to our social impact project to incentivize kids to participate,” said Concerts Committee Director Kira Stiers, a senior majoring in international relations and political science.

The canned goods will be donated to the Trojan Food Pantry, which aims to address food insecurity on campus by providing emergency relief to students experiencing food crises.

This effort is a collaboration among Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Government, the St. Francis Center, Campus Activities and USC Hospitality.

“Something that’s really challenging with issues like food insecurity is that, often times, these students are hidden from the picture and it’s something that we don’t like to talk about,” USG President Debbie Lee said.

Students who do not have dining hall plans or have used the totality of their dining swipes and are experiencing food emergencies qualify for assistance from the Trojan Food Pantry. The amount available to students depends on the amount of donations the pantry receives day to day.

Stiers said students can still bring donations after 7 p.m., noting that the team will keep collecting as long as students keep bringing. The fast-pass lane will be a part of Springfest’s new logistical structure.

There will only be one main entrance to the concert between the Von Kleinsmid Center and the Social Sciences Building instead of the usual four to five entrances surrounding McCarthy Quad. The entrance will have four lanes, with one lane designated as the fast-pass lane.

“It’s been very hard to control five or four entrances in the past [at Springfest], and it really spreads our personnel thin,” Stiers said.

Joshua Helm, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering, said students will be encouraged to bring canned goods due to the convenience from donating and incentives.

“I think it’s a really great idea because people are much more inclined to contribute to a cause when it involves something they really enjoy or are excited about,” Helm said.

The Concerts Committee asks students to bring either canned lentils, brown rice, canned beans, canned mixed vegetables, canned fruits, peanut butter or soup. They ask that none of the canned items contain meat.

“It’s more so, at this point, about encouraging the spirit of caring for one another, especially among students,” Lee said.

Springfest will take place on March 30 at McCarthy Quad from 3 to 11 p.m.