Today@Sam Article
Feed'Em Up Kats
March 23, 2020
SHSU Media Contact: Karen Leonhart
With many students facing uncertain conditions and limited groceries amidst the current health crisis, the SHSU Food Pantry is stepping up to help. SHSU is working to alleviate additional stress on community resources by providing emergency food kits, along with a hot meal, to students in need on Wednesday, March 25 at the Food Pantry (located at 1108 17th street).
Students needing food assistance should register through MySam, under the "Student Assistance" tab at least one day prior to a distribution day. They will need to bring their SAM ID as well. Distribution dates are available through the SHSU Food Pantry’s Facebook page.
To respect social distancing recommendations, there will be two distributions sessions with groups of 10 being serviced at a time. The session times will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“Our goal is always student success. We have some great partners helping to provide support to our students in this time of need. For that we are thankful. This includes Aramark, Dominos, El Patio and our hard-working Food Pantry student workers,” said Rodney Runyan, dean of College of Health Sciences. “What we do here will help our students through this current crisis period, so they can focus on completing a successful semester.”
According to Food Pantry Advisor Kathleen Gilbert, since its inception in 2014, the number of students assisted has steadily increased by 60 percent each year. During its first year in operation, the pantry was providing food to an average of 30-40 students each distribution day. With the opening of their new location this past February, they are now servicing approximately 500 students a month.
“This all has to be rough on the students. Sam Houston State has been really good to us and we care about the students,” said Randy Brown, local Domino’s owner who is donating 200 pizzas for the distribution day. “We will do whatever we can do to help. It’s the least we can do to help our community when things get bad.”
Another local business stepping up to help with the distribution is El Patio.
"In the midst of all of the chaos and changes occurring in the world today, we understand how food can provide a small comfort to the students at SHSU,” El Patio owner Josias Rivera said. “El Patio is proud to partner with the Food Pantry to provide them with a hot meal, and will continue to service the community and our students."
The Food Pantry is run by the Food Pantry@SHSU student organization. It was originally organized by student Amber Spell to address the issue of food insecurity among students who may not have the extra resources to purchase food for themselves. The Food Pantry is fully supported by community donations, both food based and financial. If you are interested in joining the “Adopt a Pantry” movement you can visit https://www.shsu.edu/academics/health-sciences/food-pantry/support.
Follow @shsu_foodpantry on twitter for the latest updates.
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