UWM's TKE fraternity helps those in need have a nice Thanksgiving

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- UW-Milwaukee students were up early on Sunday, November 17th for a special food drive to benefit Milwaukee's Hunger Task Force.

The event is organized by the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at UWM.

"It’s really nice to be able to come and see it’s still there, see the growth, see, you know, how excited these guys are to do this," UWM Alumnus Gustavo Lopez said.

UWM students marked the 15th annual "Gobble for Groceries" food drive on Sunday.

"We figure helping people who aren’t as well-off as us have a nice Thanksgiving—that’s always a good thing," Alex Sperry with Tau Kappa Epsilon said.

Members of the Zeta Zeta chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon spent seven days gathering outside their house near the intersection of Oakland and Hartford to collect food and monetary donations to benefit the Hunger Task Force.

"As hard as these guys do things on the weekend, to see them here, Sunday morning, you know—representing -- shirts on, letters on here, trying to help out charity a little bit -- it’s pretty awesome!" Lopez said.

The group aims to break 2012's record of 1,500 pounds of food donated during this year's "Gobble for Groceries."

"It’s so unusual, and it’s not just something that raises food to feed the hungry, but also raises awareness, and gets lots of attention—especially in this area," Scott Marshall with the Hunger Task Force said.

Marshall says the Hunger Task Force is willing to help folks create local food drives, and he cites "Gobble for Groceries" as one example of what a charitable commitment can create.

"They saw that we had been reaching out, trying to get people to host food drives, and the TKEs decided to jump in with everything they had," Marshall said.

During this past week, the students stood curbside wearing turkey costumes in an attempt to elicit donations.