The holiday season is here, and while many are making their gift lists, others are worried where their next meal will come from.
According to Ignite Ole Miss’ website, a crowdfunding platform for community fundraising, close to 50 million Americans don’t have access to nutritional meals, a problem known as “food insecurity.” Of those people, 10 percent are college students.
Mississippi is the second-most food insecure state in the country, with with approximately 21 percent of people struggling with hunger, including Ole Miss students.
Senior marketing and corporate relations major Savannah Thomas is the president of the Ole Miss Food Bank.
Mississippi is the second-most food insecure state in the country with approximately 21 percent of the population struggling with hunger. Casey Foley and Taylor Delaney volunteer at the Food Bank by receiving and stocking food from a donor. (Photo by: Royce Swayze)
Thomas said the Food Bank was created in November 2012 to help students struggling with the effects of the economic recession and has been growing ever since.
“We were able to operate during this past Thanksgiving break,” Thomas said. “That was the first time ever that we stayed open during a holiday break and we will be open during the winter intersession as well.”
According to the University Food Bank’s website, 18 to 25 people come through the food bank every month and it serves any Ole Miss student who needs food. There is no limit to the amount of food or how often a student can retrieve it.
The identities of students using the food bank are kept confidential. The food bank asks to see the student’s Ole Miss ID to ensure they are serving only students, but the student’s name and ID number are never recorded. Non-students are directed to other pantries within the Oxford community.
To ensure there is always plenty of food for students who need it, Thomas said donations are always welcome. To raise awareness this holiday season, the food bank is putting together campaigns to encourage students to donate.
“We’re going to collect food from the dorms during finals week,” Thomas said. “A lot of food gets thrown away at the end of each semester as people move out so we will have bins in the dorm lobbies to make sure no food goes to waste.”
The University also launched a campaign called Fins Up for Food Bank through Ignite Ole Miss. The campaign’s goal was to raise money to help stock the food bank’s newly donated fridge and freezer, giving the food bank the ability to carry fresh produce and frozen meals for the upcoming Spring semester. The campaign, which raised$3,228, ended last week.
With another break quickly approaching, Sadie Garner, senior marketing major and secretary of the Food Bank, said the food bank will have special hours during wintersession.
“We won’t be operating under our normal hours,” Garner said. “We will have phone numbers posted so students who need to get food can call any one of those numbers and someone will come and open the doors for them.”
Students can donate nonperishable food items along with toiletries, school supplies, canned drinks and bottled water.
“Everyone can drop off their donations in any of our 18 blue bins located on campus or at the donation bin outside the Food Bank located at Kinard 213,” Thomas said. “Everything and anything helps, especially with the holidays approaching.”
