Food Pantry to hold open house Friday

  Wednesday, October 22, 2014 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

What started as a hypothetical service project for a class assignment has turned into a campus program that could benefit thousands of Pittsburg State students.

The Gorilla Assistance Food Pantry, located in 310 Whitesitt Hall, hosted an open house on Oct. 24. The event gave PSU faculty and staff their first glimpse into the new pantry, which aims to provide food for PSU students in need.

“Our goal with the food pantry is to have an on-campus food assistance program for PSU students who may not be able to afford something to eat,” said program coordinator Danielle Walker. “We’re hoping the open house will show faculty and staff what we’re doing so they can help us promote it by telling their students about it.”

Walker said the food pantry will open to students on Thursday, Oct. 30. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday and Thursday. 

“We’re almost to the point of being able to stock the shelves and open our doors to students,” Walker said. “That’s a very cool feeling, knowing that we could potentially help hundreds if not thousands of students with this program.”

The idea for a food pantry on campus stemmed from a class project in which Walker and a classmate first tried to tackle world hunger. Their instructor encouraged the students to scale it back and think of a project that could have local, more practical implications.

“So we started thinking about how we could tackle hunger at Pitt State,” Walker said. “It was just supposed to be an idea, really, not something we would actually do. Then one day, we’re sitting in the library, and we decided we should try to make it happen.”

Walker said they pitched the idea to PSU administration, and it was quickly approved.

“That’s one thing that really means a lot to us,” she said. “To have support from President Scott on down is a great testament to what we’re trying to accomplish.”

The community has also stepped up to support the project.

“When word got out that we were doing this, we received a $500 donation from a local business leader to help us buy our first round of food,” Walker said. “That was an incredible gesture, and we very much appreciate it. We’ve also had other student groups and organizations conduct fundraisers for the pantry. It’s become a community and campus effort, which is great to see. We’re very proud of where this is going.”