The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences wrapped up its annual CALS Week, an event devoted to promoting the college to the entire university.

“It was truly a reunion for everyone and a great celebration of success for our college,” said Darrin Rahn, CALS student council president .

Each day, there was a free meal on Central Campus hosted by industry sponsors. Over 5,000 people were served throughout the week.

Along with supporting the daily meals, industry sponsors also contributed financially to CALS Week, allowing all the week’s activities to be free to students.

Besides participating in the club showcase, student organizations within the college were also involved in the events. The Forestry Club hosted a timbersports demonstration that consisted of various wood chopping competitions. The Culinary Science Club and the Dairy Science Club were out on Central Campus during the week, promoting their organizations while selling popcorn and ice cream, respectively. The week closed out with the Block and Bridle Club hosting their Little North American Showmanship Classic and the Horticulture Club’s Fall Festival.

The CALS Week Committee was also able to bring in a variety of lecturers for the week. Included in the line up was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, who spoke on global food insecurity. Vilsack’s lecture was so well attended that extra chairs had to be brought in seat everyone.

Despite the rainy weather, rising country star and current ISU student Neil Hewitt delivered a three-hour concert on Wednesday to hundreds of people.

Throughout the week, Alpha Zeta, a co-ed agriculture fraternity, sponsored a food drive. Thousand of non-perishable food items were donated, all of which will be used to serve local Ames residents.

“Our council is always looking for ways to improve and make future CALS Weeks better,” said Carly Cummings, senior in agriculture business and member of the CALS Week committee.

Even though the week just ended, the CALS Week committee is already making plans for next year.

“We would ideally like to feed more students and get many more industry professionals involved with our college’s celebration for next year,” Cummings said.