Students planning food pantry at KCC - Herald and News

Students planning food pantry at KCC - Herald and News

The student government at Klamath Community College is taking extra steps to care for their fellow scholars with the development of an on-campus food pantry.

Though still in the planning stages, the student government took time Saturday to raise awareness and support for the program with a Winter Bazaar for clubs and local vendors.

“There isn’t a day where there’s not a student that needs it,” said Edward Jones, president of the Associated Students of Klamath Community College (ASKCC).

Jones and his fellow leaders said it has become commonplace for students to drop by their office looking for food assistance. Jones and other ASKCC leaders said, when a student is hungry, they do not perform as well in school and part of the goal of having the pantry is increase student success.

“The hope is it will help the students achieve their ultimate success in school,” said ASKCC Senator Alisha Wells, adding hunger at the school is “not something that needs to happen.”

Jones and Wells were among those leading activities and fundraisers at the Bazaar, which included refreshments, rounds of bingo and donations for the program. Wells said their plans for the pantry are modeled off similar schools, such as Umpqua Community College, and they hope in the near future to visit those campuses and see first-hand how the programs operate.

Jones said their biggest need right now isn’t food for the pantry but space to accommodate the program and they hope room will become available through the school’s current remodel of Founders Hall. Jones also said a committee set up to plan the program will have their first meeting this week and discuss the specific next steps for the pantry.

But even without a road map in place just yet, Jones, Wells and other students said the need on campus for a pantry program is strong enough they are dedicated to moving forward.

“Everyone’s really passionate about making sure the students don’t have to worry about eating,” said Jones.

Jones said he has experienced first-hand what it is like to be a student in need and said this is an ongoing part of efforts to build support programs that meet students where they are. Though ASKCC hoped to have the pantry up and running before Christmas, they said a more realistic goal is sometime during winter term.

Outside of student government, co-curricular programs are also doing what they can to help students including their local TRiO office, which provides services to students who are first-generation college attendees or otherwise disadvantaged.

Christopher Mahar, faculty adviser for TRiO, said his students similarly saw a need on campus for winter clothing and started a coat drive. Mahar said the coat drive, like other TRiO programs, is student-led and, as a former TRiO student himself, he acknowledged the value of having students engaged in community leadership.

“I plan on making this an annual event because there’s always a need in the community,” said Mahar of the coat drive.

On Saturday TRiO hosted a booth at the bazaar where students could take or donate a winter coat. Mahar said they already have a waiting list of sizes for students and their families and they use what donations they have to help as many people as they can.

To learn more about the coat drive or how to support plans for the food pantry, call KCC Student Services at 541-882-3521.