Students with extra money on their Tiger card meal plan have an option more philanthropic than stocking up on candy or soda: donating to the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry.
Civic Fellows, whose members have been advertising for the past two weeks, will continue to accept donations today in the Hub from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and tonight in the Den from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Students can donate up to $200 to benefit the community.
"It's a way to give back to the community," said project co-chair Rae Winters, a sophomore. "Ultimately, it's more beneficial to donate money that goes towards buying food for the people in the community who are struggling to buy food for their families than to buy cases of coke or a lot of detergent for yourself."
This marks the seventh year Civic Fellows has campaigned for meal card donations, and the group has already exceeded last year's total of $3,600 dollars with a current estimated total of $10,000, an all-time high. Joey Medvescek, '09, first came up with the idea in 2006, according to Jessica Weasner, assistant director of Civic Opportunities.
"Sadly I was pessimistic about it at first," Weasner said. "But it's amazing. If we didn't do this, Sodexo would just pocket the money, so it's great that they are willing to work with us in this way. They make a profit because we are purchasing the goods from them, but we're also able to provide a great service for the community."
The increasing amount of donations given this year has caused Weasner and Civic Fellows President Brigid Costello, a senior, to consider donating to multiple food pantries. In previous years, the non-perishable food items donated have taken up most of the storage space available at the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry.
"We have so many donations this year that I'm not sure the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry can handle all of it," Weasner said. "We may look at providing canned goods for other pantries as well."
Due to timing, the food pantry is in need of these donations. According to Winters, summer is one season during which the pantry is short on non-perishable food items.
"A big part of the Civic Fellows program is looking at our community, assessing where the biggest needs are and trying to help in any way possible," Costello said. "Right now, the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry needs help. This need for food is not a problem that is going away any time soon, but we as Civic Fellows want to help minimize the stress of the problem in any way possible."
As of today, it is recommended that students keep $136.84 on their Tiger cards to purchase meals for the next two weeks.
Although Civic Fellows members will no longer be advertising in the Hub and Den after tonight, students still wishing to donate can speak with Steve Santo, director of dining services, in his office located in the Hub.