MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University turned generosity into gratitude this month through a campuswide food drive that collected enough nonperishable food items to fill over 100 bags to feed students ahead of the holiday break.

The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, the Nontraditional Student Advisory Committee, and the MTSU Student Food Pantry teamed up for Thankful Thursday, held Thursday, Nov. 6, in the lead-up to the Thanksgiving holiday break Nov. 26-29.

“This was our second biggest food drive to date,” said Maigan Wipfli, First-Year and Nontraditional Student Engagement director. “We’ve seen an uptick in the number of students visiting the pantry, so we needed the community’s assistance in putting this event together and helping our students.”

Of the 109 bags of food assembled, 55 were picked up by students, 20 were delivered to the MTSU Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center and the remaining bags — along with several boxes of extra donations — will be stocked in the student food pantry this week.

Items collected for the Thanksgiving meal bags included stuffing, mashed potatoes, canned sweet potatoes, gravy, condensed soup for casseroles, canned green beans and corn, boxed/powdered milk, cranberry sauce, pie filling and can openers.

“We received large donations from Athletics, University College, Human Resources, the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, the Alpha Delta Kappa Women’s Organization, and numerous MTSU staff and faculty members, as well as members of the community,” Wipfli said.

Students from the Department of Social Work in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences as well as Honors College students assisted in packing up and handing out the bags.

The campus initiative served up more than food — it offered a taste of the season and a reason to be thankful, as students and staff came together to fill plates and show care for one another.

“It really touches my heart that even in these troubled times, our MTSU and the surrounding community were so willing to give back to our students and donate what they could,” Wipfli said. “Many people don’t realize the struggles our students face daily, whether it’s deciding whether to pay for tuition or necessities like food. This is just one more step in helping them achieve their goal of persistence and graduation.”

To learn how you can help keep the food pantry shelves stocked, visit mtsu.edu/foodpantry/, where you’ll find online giving options and a wish list. Email food pantry coordinator Melanie Crowder at Melanie.Crowder@mtsu.edu. You can also email Wipfli at Maigan.Wipfli@mtsu.edu.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)