SunBelt Conference students battle to have the best-stocked food pantries
Get competitive, Trojans! The Trojan Pantry and Troy University Athletics are partnering to promote the SBC Food Fight for the month of February.
“It is a competition between several Sun Belt Conference Schools to increase awareness about their food pantries on their campuses as well as help to keep them stocked and well supplied,” said , Coordinator of Civic Engagement Lauren Cochran.
Troy is competing against Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Louisiana Lafayette, Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Mississippi. The schools are competing for bragging rights and for the pride of having the most well-stocked pantry for their students.
The SBC Food Fight was started by the food pantry at James Madison University. They brought the other pantries together to make the event come to life.
Although students and student organizations are welcome to donate, the Trojan Pantry is looking to partner with people who are connected with athletics, who have given to Troy or who run local, downtown businesses.
“The competition is both by collecting physical and monetary donations, so it’s really meant to just spotlight this work going on across the country at various Sun Belt Conference schools and really try and give a boost to different areas that are working to keep them fully supplied,” Cochran said. “Most of the food pantries that we are working with run off of donations.
“Some have different partnerships with community agencies or food banks but most of them run off of donations so it’s critical that these kinds of drives keep them well stocked.”
The Trojan Pantry has many student volunteers who are passionate about serving their peers.
“It’s a great resource,” said Alisia Purvee, a senior hospitality management student from Hartford, Alabama. “Whenever I go in on Monday, there’s always a line, which really shows how necessary it is.”
The Trojan Pantry is facilitated completely by students.
“Alongside being a great resource, it is completely student ran,” said Jayden McQueen, a junior political science major from Crestview, Florida. “We try our best to meet the needs of the students.”
Lauren Cochran said Troy is on par with the national averages for food insecurity, meaning that up to 30% of Troy students have experienced food insecurity to some degree.
The Trojan Pantry strives to maintain a welcoming and inviting atmosphere to encourage hesitant students to get the resources they need.
Cochran said she wants the pantry to be utilized just like any other resource on campus.
“We want the access to basic needs to not be a barrier to academic success,” Cochran said. “We ourselves are a resource that supports students outside the classroom.
“We know that that plays a role in their ability to remain inside the classroom. We do our best to supply food, hygiene items and school supply items.”
The Trojan Pantry recommends donating rice, boxed pasta, peanut butter, jelly, cereal and breakfast bars. A full list of recommended items to donate can be found on their website at my.troy.edu/pantry. They also encourage donors to donate food with a long shelf life, so they have plenty of time to get the items to the students.
Donations can be brought to the Civic Engagement Outreach Center at 113 Veterans Memorial Drive or to her office at 112 Eldridge Hall. For larger donations, coordinate in advance and meet at the Trojan Pantry at Trojan Village 200. To coordinate drop-off, contact Lauren Cochran at laurencochran@troy.edu.
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