MURFREESBORO — As
students flood the MTSU campus with the start of the fall 2017 semester, the
Student Food Pantry prepares for its own influx of hungry visitors.
The pantry, located on the second floor of the Student
Services and Admissions Center, is looking for nonperishable food items that
can be eaten right out of the package or prepared with relatively little
effort.
Among the items topping the list are canned fruit,
applesauce, raisins, individual muffin packs, macaroni and cheese cups and
boxes, pudding cups, canned or bottled juices, granola bars, ravioli and canned
pasta, popcorn and peanut butter.
Small toiletries and personal care items are also accepted,
but candy, candy bars and chewing gum are not accepted.
“Students who go to class hungry are less likely to succeed,
and we want our students to have the tools to succeed and focus in class
instead of worrying about being hungry,” said Kristen Russell, coordinator of
outreach and support programs.
Replenishing the shelves in the pantry is an ongoing
enterprise and has been since the pantry’s inception in 2012. This requires
occasional help from both on-campus and off-campus groups to augment individual
donations.
“Student organizations or departments will do drives for
us,” said Russell. “We also have great partners in the community.”
To accommodate those who don’t have time to fill up donation
boxes, the pantry has an MTSU Foundation account for tax-deductible monetary
contributions.
“If donations have slowed and we’re running low on some
things, we’ll make a trip to pick up some items,” said Russell.
The Student Food Pantry has been featured in both area and
national media. More than 105,000 pounds of food have been collected, and the
pantry has been visited more than 3,500 times since its creation.
To donate or for more information, contact Russell at
615-898-2808 or kristen.russell@mtsu.edu.
No comments:
Post a Comment