Southwest Texas Junior College food pantry supporting students during giving season

UVALDE – It’s the season of giving and a few faculty students in Uvalde are hoping to encourage others to do the identical.

For them, it’s so simple as offering a meal to their fellow students.

The cabinets are stocked on the Southwest Texas Junior College food pantry.

“They can grab three cans of vegetables, one thing of peanut butter, or usually we have jelly, thing of rice, tuna. Really, whatever it is they’re looking for,” Ryan Alldritt, advisor for Phi Theta Kappa stated.

While the pantry has been round since 2017, the COVID-19 pandemic has made a huge impact.

“We saw a really big decrease in donations being made. So as a past Phi Theta Kappa project here, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to try and revamp,” Landon Haynes, Phi Theta Kappa president, stated.

Haynes has been going to the junior faculty full-time for a yr. She’s president of the school’s honor society Phi Theta Kappa.

She took on the problem to revive the pantry.

“They might need that little bit of extra support just to make it a little bit easier having to pay for college and help with families,” Haynes stated.

It advantages the students on campus — every semester they will seize from the pantry six instances.

Right now, the necessity is bigger than ever.

“Half to two-thirds of our student body is low income. So they’re making 150% or less than the poverty line,” Alldritt stated.

Red donation buckets are scattered all through campus. They accumulate donations for the food pantry and have an inventory of things the pantry is needing. But there are different methods you may donate monetarily.

“We also have the contribute button on the website where you can go to designate that you want to donate to the food pantry specifically,” Philip Hadley, advertising coordinator, recruitment and engagement for SWTJC stated.

They’re additionally implementing a program the place students can spherical up their totals on the faculty cafeteria to donate to the pantry.

Haynes’ mission has reached native companies just like the Uvalde School of Gymnastics and picked up and donated 200 nonperishable food objects.

“It’s just a good way for all of us to be involved and make a difference here in the community,” Kim Knape, proprietor of USG stated.

Haynes hopes the continued consciousness helps hold these cabinets full for the students who want them.

“Keep it stocked up, keep it organized, and keep the awareness being spread about it being here,” she stated.