Greek Life organizations at UNM and NMSU collected 21,447 pounds of food during a three-week competition.
"The goal of the competition was to help those in need and still have fun," said Lauren Haggerty, UNM's Panhellenic Council adviser.
The winner of the competition was announced during halftime of Saturday's football game in Las Cruces.
UNM collected 7,468 pounds of food, and NMSU collected 13,979 pounds, Haggerty said.
The Greek Life organizations at UNM donated their food to the Roadrunner Food Bank, and the NMSU organizations donated to Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico, she said.
"We didn't know how competitive NMSU was going to be," Haggerty said. "But hopefully this will become an annual event and we can beat them next year."
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National Panhellenic Council President Stephanie Heikkinen, Interfraternity Council President Mac Woods and Multicultural Greek Council President Isaac Casas organized the food drive, Haggerty said.
"Congratulations to NMSU for winning the competition," she said. "They definitely have set the bar for the future."
UNM Sigma Alpha Epsilon member Corey Berigan said he and his fraternity brothers enjoyed finding creative ways to participate in the competition.
"We stood outside Smith's grocery store and asked people for donations," he said. "Everyone was more than willing to help."
Sigma Alpha Epsilon collected about 2,000 pounds of food, Berigan said.
"If we would have worked all three weekends, we probably could have raised more," he said.
Berigan said next year will be better and that with more support, UNM Greeks should be able to beat NMSU.
"I think this is a good form of community service, and I would like to see it become an annual event," he said.
Bridgette Madrid, the vice president of philanthropy for Pi Beta Phi, said her sorority teamed up with Sigma Chi to collect donations.
Together, they gathered about 900 pounds of food, she said.
"It was so great participating in this event, and I think that it needs to be more than an annual event, because it really brought all the Greek groups together," she said.
Madrid said people were more than generous with their donations and that the competitive aspect of the project increased people's desires to help out.
"We met some people who had been helped by the Roadrunner Food Bank, and they expressed their gratitude to us. It was a great feeling," she said.
