SFA Hunger Jacks members, volunteers collect more than 620 items in food drive

Members of Stephen F. Austin State University's Hunger Jacks organization and volunteers collected more than 620 items during a food drive as part of the university's Martin Luther King Day of Service on Jan. 16. The collected food will be stored in the Food for Thought Food Pantry on the SFA campus, which provides supplemental, healthy food to SFA students who are experiencing food insecurities.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Members of Stephen F. Austin State University's Hunger Jacks organization and volunteers collected more than 620 items during a food drive as part of the university's Martin Luther King Day of Service on Jan. 16.

The collected food will be stored in the Food for Thought Food Pantry on the university's campus, which provides supplemental healthy food to SFA students who are experiencing food insecurities.

Hunger Jacks is a student organization that operates the pantry and works to alleviate hunger in Nacogdoches and at SFA by working with SFA Dining Services and by raising awareness, food and funds through food drives and events.

Tamia Garrett, a SFA Houston sophomore and Hunger Jacks treasurer, helped collect donations around campus and was pleased with the drive's success.

"It always makes me happy when we get donations to stock the pantry," Garrett said. "I see a lot of people who need the pantry. It's exciting when the pantry is full because people can get items they normally wouldn't be able to."

Thirty students participated in the food drive by collecting items from various departments on campus. The targeted food items were rice, rice sides, pasta, pasta sides, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti sauce and spices.

Joy Hammonds, Hunger Jacks adviser, served as the site coordinator for the drive and said participation in SFA's MLK Day of Service provided a multitude of opportunities for students, including bringing awareness to hunger and food insecurities as they relate to college students and the community while stocking the pantry for the upcoming semester.

"It was an opportunity for students to get involved in a service project that impacts their peers," Hammonds said. "This project allows the entire SFA campus to become part of a program that directly impacts our students. Whether they are volunteering, utilizing the food pantry or both, I have seen the difference Food for Thought has made."

The Food for Thought Food Pantry is open from 3 to 6 p.m. Mondays and is located on the third floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 3.201.

Students must bring their SFA campus ID to receive food and must check-in when collecting items. Students can visit the pantry once a week. The pantry is supported by charitable contributions and donations, and food drives occur year-round to help keep the pantry stocked.