The goal of the pantry is to meet the immediate food needs of students on campus and community members, according to Alicia Fox, director of the department’s nutrition education program.
“Research shows almost half of all college students are food insecure. Marshall University has not had a food pantry on campus since October 2016 and we wanted to change that,” Fox said. “Dean Prewitt wanted to open a pantry that would accessible to students and community members. The Department of Dietetics’ downtown space provided the perfect location along with free shuttles from campus to make it accessible for students.”
Fox said individuals who stop by the food pantry will be asked to sign in, but no formal documentation or identification will be required.
“To know we can open a pantry to help those who don’t know where their next meal will come from is very exciting,” Fox said. “Hunger is real on our campus and in our community and to know we can help individuals have food to meet a very essential need is a good feeling.”
Fox said the pantry will be open 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursdays at 233 Pullman Center at 907 Third Avenue in Huntington. To make a non-perishable donation, contact Kelli Williams at williamsk@marshall.edu or Fox at alicia.fox@marshall.edu and they will make arrangements to pick up the food donation or have it dropped off. Monetary donations are also accepted and will be used to purchase food from Facing Hunger Food Bank.
To learn more about the Marshall University food pantry, call 304-696-4629.