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It is that time of year where giving is on everyone’s minds. Grand View’s Viking Volunteers, along with other clubs and organizations, have put together a food drive on GV’s campus. Although this food drive will be going on throughout the rest of the school year, these groups are promoting it during the month of November, as it is currently Hunger Awareness month.

Students and faculty members at GV may bring cans and other food products, and drop them off at one of the seven locations across the campus. These goods will be stored in a pantry at Luther Memorial Church, and they can be received by students in need on the front lawn, 24 hours a day.

During the upcoming holiday seasons and breaks, there are students who are in need of assistance in getting food on the table, due to the on-campus dining services being unavailable.

“Some students don’t go home during these breaks, and people don’t realize that,” Viking Volunteers President Angela Lose said. “Our goal for this month was to bring in enough food where we will be able to stock the pantry fully, until April. There will be food in it all the time.”

“We try to promote, take what you need in the time of need, but give back when you can,” Lose said.

Students are encouraged to do this to keep a large amount of food stockpiled in the pantry.

 

 

Pastor Russ Lackey, who is heavily involved with the food drive, reflects on his realization, that some students on campus are in need.

“I got a phone call from the food service, where a student was stealing food, because she was hungry,” Lackey said. “That’s what first brought my awareness to it. They weren’t mad that the student was stealing food, they were just like, this is a problem, and we need to address it. We got some funds from the church so that we could buy her groceries.”

It was that instance that sparked the movement to make food available for students who may not speak up.

The Grand Views recently took a survey to see if students showed insecurities in making their need of food known. They found that from 52 respondents, almost 20 percent of students experienced food insecurity ‘always’ or ‘almost always,’ during their time at the university. Many students who participated in the survey were unsure if food insecurity was an issue on campus, but the nearly 20 percent of respondents who have skipped a meal daily because of financial concerns, know it is. While the majority of students said that they would ‘never’ use a food pantry, there are many students who acknowledged they would.

In the past, the food drive at GV has generated about 500 food products per year. “We want to push it so we have enough food to keep this thing going,” Lose said. She noted the more food that gets donated, the better off the pantry will be, and the longer it will last.

Lose also mentioned that the groups want to make this more than just a food drive in the future.

“We are going to try to implement toiletry items, such as toothpaste, deodorant, stuff like that,” Lose said. “Our main focus will always be the food, but that stuff can be included as well.”

After the November food drive promotion is over on the 22nd, there will be a single drop-off location where students and staff can continue to donate for the remainder of the school year.