Roane State Community College’s new Food Pantry On-the-Go is addressing food insecurity among students during the pandemic. Following highly positive feedback from its initial effort, the mobile food pantry’s next event is set for Wednesday, December 2, at the Campbell County Campus in LaFollette.
The event will be held in Room 101 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Roane State students from any of the college’s nine campuses will have the opportunity to shop—for free—for a wide variety of non-perishable and microwavable food items. Organizers hope the event will help students and their families stock up ahead of the winter break.
The first Food Pantry On-the-Go event was held in October at the Knox County Center for Health Sciences. These mobile events are the latest effort by the college to help students who may have food insecurity issues that have only increased due to COVID-19. Even prior to the pandemic, statistics showed that at least 40 percent of college students experienced some form of food insecurity.
Roane State has made concerted efforts to address that problem, including significant in-house food pantries at the college’s three largest campuses in Roane County, Cumberland County, and Oak Ridge. With many students currently learning from home, organizers hope mobile events will help make the pantries even more accessible.
Roane State’s Campbell County Campus is located at 201 Independence Lane in LaFollette. Questions about the college’s food pantries can be emailed to raiderpantry@roanestate.edu. Additional details are posted at roanestate.edu/foodpantry.
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