Employees Help Students with Food Pantry
As the cost of a college education continues to rise and despite the availability of college meal plans, more and more college students these days express concerns about where their next meal will come from.
In fact, according to UniversityBusiness.com, studies show that about half of U.S. college students experience some form of food insecurity in which they lack the resources to feed themselves nutritiously and/or consistently. Bluefield College students are not immune to this dilemma and express similar concerns about lacking food supplies. So BC employees have responded to this need with the creation of the Rams Care Food Pantry in Shott Hall.
A variety of food items are available for free to students in the Rams Care Food Pantry, located adjacent to the Campus Store in Shott Hall. But according to Ruth Blankenship, one of three BC staff members who envisioned the project, the pantry provides not only food, but also hygiene products, school supplies, and cleaning items.
“This pantry is a passion project of myself, Dr. Pat Neely (dean of online education) and Ann Looney (director of academic programs),” said Blankenship, BC’s vice president for administration. “Over a year ago we became very concerned over the unmet needs of our students and began discussing how we could assist them.”
Blankenship said the items requested most by students are laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, can openers, and bowls for preparing food. The issue, she added, is not exclusive to Bluefield College, but affecting college students across the country.
Last year, Dr. Neely tasked two of her students, Jenna Anderson and Jordan O’Saben, to complete a study of the need for a pantry on the BC campus. Part of their study included a survey of Bluefield College students, which indicated that 67 percent of students had not had enough food for themselves while at school and 77 percent have noticed their peers struggling to have an adequate food source.
“This pantry is completely donation only,” Blankenship said. “No student fees or tuition dollars are used to fund the items in the pantry, and everything is free to a student. If we do not have something a student needs, we try to get it.”
Providing those pantry donations are a host of Bluefield College faculty and staff. In fact, Blankenship said the pantry has been “very blessed” by the support from BC employees who have either donated directly or had their churches give love offerings of items needed. Also joining the cause: the Bland Ministry Center in Bland, VA.
“They were more than excited to help and offered to be our exclusive partner getting us food from USDA and Feeding America,” Blankenship said. “Since the launch of this partnership, several churches are now making donations to the Bland Mission designated to purchase items needed in the pantry.”
Looney is among the BC employees not only donating, but also volunteering in the Rams Care Food Pantry. She said it is a “privilege” to share the food and supply items with students and a blessing to see how they respond.
“They (the students) were in awe of what we had available,” Looney said about her most recent volunteer experience. “One of them was thrilled to receive some coffee. They were excited to have a choice of soups, ravioli, spaghetti noodles and sauce to pick from, just to name a few. They were even more excited to know that they could come on a weekly basis to receive items.”
The Rams Care Food Pantry will be open February 24-28 and March 9-13 from 2-4 p.m. each day. Starting March 16 through the end the semester, the pantry will be open Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If students can’t get to the pantry during these times, Campus Store employees Beth Kinser and Carrie Mullins will open the storeroom upon special request. Students visiting for the first time are required to bring their Bluefield College Student ID.
“This has been a huge blessing for myself, Dr. Neely, Ann Looney, Beth Kinser and Carrie Mullins,” Blankeship added, “to assist students in the Rams Care Pantry.”