In 1984 UT initiated a campus-wide food drive to assist the SHARE Food Bank, a United Way Agency, which collected donated food from the community and food industry for distribution to 350 charitable programs in East Tennessee. Boxes for collection were placed in each building, and Facilities Services employees picked up the donations and delivered them to SHARE. The UT drive ceased in 1999.
The personnel office began coordinating an annual food drive on campus to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank in 1983, which was a tradition for 20 years. Collection boxes were placed in 75 buildings throughout the campus. More than two hundred pounds of food were collected annually.