UPDATED: Feb. 16, 2024 at 8:40 a.m.
Dr. Alison Simons, associate professor of sociology, runs the Texas Wesleyan food pantry and pays for snack donations.
Simons encourages students and professors to donate food that they have at home. Organizations like Texas Health Resources provide fruits and vegetables, and other professors provide snacks they have from home, to keep the pantry stocked. Despite help from professors and other organizations, there are times when Simons pays with her own money to keep donations coming into the pantry.
“I go to Sams because I can buy bulk, but it is kind of expensive,” Simons said. “I just hope there is no student going without [food].”
Donations are often so little that certain foods brought in are gone within a couple of hours of being available due to the high demand from students who live on campus.
Volunteer and senior exercise science major Sarays Flores suggests that professors should mention donating to their students.
“Maybe there can be incentives such as [extra credit for donations],” Flores said.
Students across campus are willing to donate to the food pantry to help this issue but are confused as to how they can donate and where their donations can go. One such student is Victor Hernandez, a graduate student at Wesleyan.
“I didn’t even know that we could donate honestly,” Hernandez said. “[I would donate] once or twice a month and put stuff I can cook at home in there.”
For free produce, food and appliances, students can visit the food pantry on the first floor of the PUMC and donation appliances can be seen in the Martin Center as cardboard boxes. For more information, contact Simons at [email protected]
Correction: the name of the organization is Texas Health Resources.
