Written by: Rebecca Straits (Rjs006@marietta.edu)
As a result of the longest government shutdown in American history, there has been a rising
concern with food insecurity in the United States. While the shutdown has ended, the consequences must be addressed. How is Marietta taking on food insecurity, especially as the holidays quickly approach? The answer is Food Pantries.
Last week, during ThanksGilman, the Student Government Association (SGA) and Parkhurst collaborated to host a food drive and donation event for the campus food pantry. They were able to raise over $1,500 to support the food pantry, and food donations are still open till November 25th in Gilman dining hall, the Pioneer PitStop, and the third floor of Andrews Hall.
This year, the Marietta Men’s and Women’s basketball teams are working with the food pantry and will be accepting donations during home games at the Ban Johnson Arena.
Food donations include non-perishables such as canned goods, pasta, pasta sauce, crackers, ramen, canned soups, and other shelf-stable dry goods. The campus food pantry helps members of Marietta College’s community who are facing food insecurity, especially with Gillman and other campus food spots shutting down for Thanksgiving and winter break.
Along with food pantries, there are a variety of other ways Marietta residents are fighting food insecurity, such as volunteering. There are a variety of organizations a person can partner with to fight food insecurity, such as GoPacks. GoPacks mission is to fight food insecurity affecting kids and is open to volunteers during the school season and is good for first time volunteers.
For the upcoming holidays, SE Ohio Foodbank is hosting an Emergency Holiday Food Drive on November 26th at the Washington Fairgrounds, Marrietta, Ohio and is asking for volunteers from 9:00 a.m.-12:00p.m.
Food insecurity is ever prevalent in Ohio, Marietta included, and food pantries are one of the best
ways to fight it. Just volunteering or donating to your local food pantry can help, especially with
the major holidays coming up, and with many families’ SNAP benefits still on hold. Food
donations for Marietta College’s food panty are open until November 25th and are open to the
campus community facing food insecurity or who are staying on campus over Thanksgiving break
Edited by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
