As students flood the MTSU campus with the start of the fall 2017 semester, the Student Food Pantry is preparing for its own influx of hungry visitors.

The pantry, located on the second floor of the Student Services and Admissions Center, needs nonperishable food items that can be eaten right out of the package or prepared with relatively little effort.

In this April 2017 file photo, Kristen Russell, left, coordinator of outreach and support programs at MT One Stop, packs up donations collected during the spring by MTSU Fraternity and Sorority Life in support of the university’s Student Food Pantry. Russell oversees pantry operations; helping her is One Stop secretary Tina Chevalier. (MTSU file photo by Jimmy Hart)

Among the items topping the list are canned fruit, applesauce, raisins, individual muffin packs, macaroni and cheese cups and boxes, pudding cups, canned or bottled juices, granola bars, ravioli and canned pasta, popcorn and peanut butter.

Small toiletries and personal care items are also accepted. Candy, candy bars and chewing gum are not.

“Students who go to class hungry are less likely to succeed, and we want our students to have the tools to succeed and focus in class instead of worrying about being hungry,” said Kristen Russell, coordinator of outreach and support programs.

Replenishing the shelves in the pantry is an ongoing enterprise and has been since the pantry’s inception in 2012. This requires occasional help from both on- and off-campus groups to supplement individual donations.

Click on the logo for more information or to make a financial donation to the MTSU Student Food Pantry.

“Student organizations or departments will do drives for us,” said Russell. “We also have great partners in the community.”

To accommodate those who don’t have time to fill up boxes or bags of donated food, the pantry has an MTSU Foundation account for tax-deductible financial contributions.

“If donations have slowed and we’re running low on some things, we’ll make a trip to pick up some items,” Russell said. 

The Student Food Pantry has collected more than 105,000 pounds of food and has been visited more than 3,500 times since its creation.

To donate or for more information, contact Russell at 615-898-2808 or kristen.russell@mtsu.edu or visit www.mtsu.edu/foodpantry.

— Gina Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)