MTSU’s Student Food Pantry welcomed a needed boost that restocked its shelves just in time for the holiday season.

MTSU’s University Honors College joins the participants in a recent food drive sponsored by the ACE Learning Center to benefit the MTSU Student Food Pantry. Shown left to right are Becca Seul, pantry coordinator and MT One Stop coordinator; Dr. Phillip Phillips, associate Honors College dean; Susan Lyons, event coordinator for the Honors College; Honors College dean Dr. John Vile; James Taylor, an MT One Stop enrollment counselor and food pantry assistant; and Kerry Boylan, outreach coordinator for the ACE Learning Center. (Photos submitted)

The Ann Campbell Early Learning Center, previously known as Project Help, held a food drive in conjunction with community partner Jones Therapy Group that resulted in more than 3,000 pounds of donated food collected for the pantry.

Located in the Student Services and Admissions Center, which also is known as the MT One Stop, the MTSU Student Food Pantry is available to any currently enrolled student who shows a valid student ID.

Students with longer-term food needs are referred to community partners such as Greenhouse Ministries.

The pantry has been accessed more than 300 times in the month of November alone, according to Becca Seul, the operation’s founder and a coordinator at MT One Stop.

“We could not serve our students’ needs without the thoughtful donations of our campus and community partners,” Seul said.

“This month, we had two large food drives provide over 9,000 pounds of food for our holiday rush. BIG thanks to the ACE Learning Center, Jones Therapy and all that participated in the CUSA food drive! Your generosity is helping us to feed many hungry students!”

In addition to the ACE Learning Center and Jones Therapy contribution, the pantry benefited from the recent Conference USA food drive competition, which collected more than 6,000 pounds of food at various athletic and other campus events a few weeks ago.

Among the large contributors to recent MTSU food drives were the Department of Economics and Finance and the Department of Health and Human Performance.

Young helpers from the Ann Campbell Early Learning Center help pack food donated during a recent food drive held on behalf of the MTSU Student Food Pantry.

Since the student pantry opened two years ago, it has been visited more than 900 times, Seul said. Homeless and foster-care students are among those who use the pantry, and students who are between paychecks or whose campus meal plans have run out also obtain food there.

The pantry accepts nonperishable items with valid use-by dates. Among the most needed items are canned fruits and beans, pasta, peanut butter, crackers, fruit cups, rice, cereal, bottled water and ramen noodles.

You can find a complete list of needed items at www.mtsu.edu/foodpantry.

Donors can drop off food items during the MT One Stop’s operating hours: Monday-Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Student Services and Admissions Center is located on the east side of campus at MTSU Boulevard and Blue Raider Drive. Visitor parking is available off MTSU Boulevard.

Those wishing to help monetarily can also donate online at www.mtsu.edu/foodpantry. The pantry now has an MTSU Foundation account, which allows Seul to stock up on items available in bulk at less cost.

For more information, contact Seul at 615-494-8910 or becca.seul@mtsu.edu, or visit www.mtsu.edu/foodpantry.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)

A young helper from the Ann Campbell Early Learning Center helps pack food donated during a recent food drive held on behalf of the MTSU Student Food Pantry.

James Taylor, an MT One Stop enrollment counselor who helps with the MTSU Student Food Pantry, is shown with donations given by the University Honors College during a recent food drive sponsored by the ACE Learning Center.