Food Pantry Case Study
Since April of 2012, Bucky’s Food Pantry has played a major role in East Tennessee State University’s fight against campus food insecurity.
Food insecurity, or lack of nutritional food, has been a growing problem on ETSU’s campus said the marketing director of Bucky’s Food Pantry Charles Patton.
“A lot of it is life changes in families of the students that are supporting these folks,” Patton said. “Sometimes, they lose their jobs, and of course we’ve lost about 6 million jobs, so a lot of it has to do with that.”
Patton said many students and staff may find themselves in the situation of not having enough money after they’ve paid for things such as rent, books, gas and utilities. Because of this, those people may try to get multiple jobs
in order to earn enough money for food that semester.
“A lot of students are trying to work 30 hours a week and go to school full time. Sometimes that just doesn’t work out,” Patton said. “They have to draw back on the work so they can go to school, and they come up short. So they end up eating once a day, or even just two or three times a week just to get along.”
Luckily, for ETSU, Bucky’s Food Pantry collects food items and shares them free of charge to anyone on campus who needs help. Students, faculty and staff may request food twice a month, Patton said. Starting Monday, Bucky’s will launch a weeklong food drive at Borchuk Plaza. Non-perishable food, personal hygiene items and pots and pans are welcome. Blue collection boxes with the Bucky’s logo are located in the Sherrod Library, the Center for Physical Activity and other campus buildings. With far greater August and September requests than usual, Patton said Bucky’s has been able to triple the amount of requests they have given out over the past 4 years they’ve been open.
Over the several years Bucky’s Food Pantry has been open, it has affected many people within the ETSU community. Not only has it helped feed those who were struggling to find their next meal, but it helped bring the ETSU community together to fight food insecurity.
Food insecurity, or lack of nutritional food, has been a growing problem on ETSU’s campus said the marketing director of Bucky’s Food Pantry Charles Patton.
“A lot of it is life changes in families of the students that are supporting these folks,” Patton said. “Sometimes, they lose their jobs, and of course we’ve lost about 6 million jobs, so a lot of it has to do with that.”
Patton said many students and staff may find themselves in the situation of not having enough money after they’ve paid for things such as rent, books, gas and utilities. Because of this, those people may try to get multiple jobs
in order to earn enough money for food that semester.
“A lot of students are trying to work 30 hours a week and go to school full time. Sometimes that just doesn’t work out,” Patton said. “They have to draw back on the work so they can go to school, and they come up short. So they end up eating once a day, or even just two or three times a week just to get along.”
Luckily, for ETSU, Bucky’s Food Pantry collects food items and shares them free of charge to anyone on campus who needs help. Students, faculty and staff may request food twice a month, Patton said. Starting Monday, Bucky’s will launch a weeklong food drive at Borchuk Plaza. Non-perishable food, personal hygiene items and pots and pans are welcome. Blue collection boxes with the Bucky’s logo are located in the Sherrod Library, the Center for Physical Activity and other campus buildings. With far greater August and September requests than usual, Patton said Bucky’s has been able to triple the amount of requests they have given out over the past 4 years they’ve been open.
Over the several years Bucky’s Food Pantry has been open, it has affected many people within the ETSU community. Not only has it helped feed those who were struggling to find their next meal, but it helped bring the ETSU community together to fight food insecurity.