Homecoming food drive fills pantry

Buffalo State held its annual food drive on Friday, gathering four carts of food to supplement the college's pantry.           

The pantry provides a place to go when students are struggling to provide for themselves, which has become an issue as tuition increases and as students are waiting for their refund checks, said Kim Jablonski,assistant director for mandated programs.  Students can go to Weigel Health Center or Chartwells where they can be confidentially assisted and provided with the food from the food drive.

Tom Koller, senior associate athletic director and homecoming chair, has been hosting this food drive every homecoming week for the last 10 years.            

The tradition began when former President Muriel Howard mentioned the lack of food in the school's pantry, Koller said.

"I think the food drive shows the wonderful generosity of our faculty and staff, who understand that there are many students here who need a little assistance to make it through the week.  Frankly, none of our students should go hungry, no matter their economic limitations. This is a win-win for everyone!" Koller said.

Seventeen offices have participated in donating to the food pantry this year. A professor from the geography and planning department who wished to remain anonymous donated over six bags worth of food.

Jablonski has been working with other faculty to find a place to store the food. After the previous food pantry located in the student union was converted into an office, it was necessary to find a replacement location, Jablonski said.

Jablonski was then connected to Manny Lezama, senior director for Chartwells food service group. They worked out a space in the facility with other faculty members to house the food for the pantry.

"Last year I had numerous amounts of students that were coming at the end of the shifts begging for food," Lezama said. This is how Project Clean Plate, an initiative to keep track of wasted food from the dining hall, was formed.

Over 5,000 pounds of food were wasted between the hours of noon and 2 p.m. This waste could have fed 759 people, but instead it was thrown away. This project is to make students aware of this waste of food, Lezama said.

"What we are looking for is the participation from the student, the food service provider and the college for us to become united," said Lezama.

Five members of the women's lacrosse team volunteered to collect donations around campus between noon and 1 p.m. Friday. Every year three to five shopping carts of food are filled to help the food pantry of the college. This year's yield was four shopping carts of food.

"I think the food drive is a good cause and all this food shows that people really care about the students, and we wanted to be a part of it," said Mariah DeBolt, a member of the women's lacrosse team.

While the majority of the food went to the college's pantry, some items with upcoming expiration dates were donated to other local charities, where they would be used more quickly.

Shari Ingles can be reached by e-mail at ingles.record@live.com.