• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

‘Brain Food’ need increases as federal aid reduced

Posted at 5:03 pm January 25, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Roane State Community College Brain Food volunteer Mariella Akers, left, with Sue Byrne from First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, a sponsor for the pantry. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

“Brain Food,” the name of Roane State Community College’s pantry for students at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus, has seen a big increase in students taking advantage of the free service.

A reduction in federal assistance that went into effect in late September is seen as one of the reasons for the uptick, an official said.

At the Oak Ridge campus, between nine and 11 students were helped by Brain Food each week during the Spring 2021 semester, while that number jumped to 18 to 20 students in the fall.

Last year, more than 120 students were served. After tallying the reported members of each student’s household, pantry staffers estimate that a total of 373 people received assistance in 2021. Mariella Akers, Oak Ridge faculty secretary and Brain Food volunteer, added that 120 of those household members were children.

The pantry opened in October 2019 and is located in the cafeteria in the Coffey/McNally Building. To date, 351 students in households totaling 1,143 persons have been helped.

“We’re so fortunate that Roane State has made a commitment to helping students overcome their food insecurity issues,” Roane State Dean of Students Lisa Steffensen said.

“It’s so important that all of our students know that the service is available for them, that it’s completely free and that there is no income verification or proof of residency to utilize any of our pantries,” Steffensen said. “The pantries can really help students stretch their grocery budgets.”

Brain Food is a partnership between Roane State, First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, and Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.

Sue Byrne chats with a student in the Roane State Community College Brain Food Pantry. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

While classes are in session, the Oak Ridge pantry’s regular hours are Mondays from 10 a.m. until noon. That’s right after fresh food items are delivered by volunteers with the church. Food is donated through Kroger’s Zero Hunger Zero Waste sponsorship.

The 100 students who regularly benefit from Brain Food are sent emails shortly after fresh food arrives to notify them of what’s available, Akers said.

Brain Food always has canned and dry goods to offer. The pantry relies on donations for some items such as toiletries, including soap, shampoo, deodorant, and especially sanitary supplies.

Donations of food should be shelf-stable and individually packaged items are appreciated. Donated food that’s especially popular includes cold cereals, applesauce, and all kinds of energy bars. Nutrition drinks, almond milk, and sodas are well received, Akers said, and bottled water is extremely popular.

Brain Food is closed when the campus is closed. When the campus is open, donations can be brought to 701 Briarcliff Avenue and left at the front desk in the visitor’s lobby (just inside the entrance nearest the flagpole) of the Coffey/McNally Building.

Anyone interested in giving a monetary gift may visit the Roane State Foundation online at roanestate.edu/donate and select “Food Pantry Donations.” Monetary donations may be directed to all pantries or specific locations and can be made on behalf of an organization.

The Brain Food team can be reached at [email protected] or by calling (865) 481-2000. Gail Powers-Blanton, Oak Ridge operator, can assist in directing calls. Additional team members are available at the following extensions: Mariella Akers, extension 2007, and Sandy Vann, extension 4802.

There are also significant in-house pantries at the Roane and Cumberland County campuses. More information about Roane State’s food assistance programs can be found online at roanestate.edu/foodpantry.

Roane State Community College students inside the Brain Food Pantry. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today!

Alternatively, you can donate to support our work here. Thank you for your support!

Copyright 2021 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: College, Community, Education, Education, Front Page News, Slider Tagged With: Brain Food pantry, First Presbyterian Church, food assistance, food pantry, Kroger, Lisa Steffensen, Mariella Akers, Oak Ridge, Roane State Community College, Second Harvest Food Bank, Sue Byrne, Zero Hunger Zero Waste

Advertisements

 


Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Community News

Free dental, vision, medical services in February

Remote Area Medical (RAM)—a major nonprofit provider of pop-up clinics delivering free, quality dental, vision, and medical care to those in need—will have a free, two-day clinic in Oak Ridge in February. The clinic … [Read More...]

Tickets on sale for Flatwater Storytelling Festival

The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival in June will feature three nationally acclaimed storytellers: Lyn Ford, Bil Lepp, and Rev. Robert B. Jones. "Well-known to audiences throughout the country for their wit and … [Read More...]

Bird courtship to be discussed in UT Arboretum Society program

Bird courtship will be discussed in a pre-recorded program of the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society in February. "Bird courtship has begun!" a press release said. "Either from new partnerships being formed or … [Read More...]

Democratic Women’s Club to hear from AC Emergency Rescue Squad

Representatives of the Anderson County Emergency Rescue Squad will be guest speakers when the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club meets at 6 p.m. Monday, January 23, at Shoney’s Restaurant, 204 South Illinois Avenue … [Read More...]

Medicaid expansion forum is Tuesday

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge and co-sponsors are hosting a forum on Medicaid expansion in Tennessee on Tuesday. The forum is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, January 17, in the ORAU Pollard Auditorium at … [Read More...]

More Community

More Education News

Covenant Health donating land for Roane State health science center

Covenant Health is donating about 10 acres of land for Roane State Community College's new $75 million regional health science training center in west Knox County. The Knox Regional Health Science and Simulation … [Read More...]

School board approves aviation career path

The Oak Ridge school board on Monday unanimously approved an aviation career pathway that could eventually allow students to get a private pilot's license. The board also approved a contract extension for Superintendent … [Read More...]

Extreme Classroom Makeover applications due Jan. 31

The deadline to submit a video application is about one week away in a contest that awards $25,000 to improve STEM education in public schools in the region. ORAU's Extreme Classroom Makeover is open to third-grade to … [Read More...]

ORCSGirls resumes in-person classes in Oak Ridge, Maryville

Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls (ORCSGirls) is resuming their free in-person coding classes for girls in grades 5-10, a press release said. In March 2020, all classes were switched to be virtual events in response to … [Read More...]

Roane to Tech paves path for transfer students

A relatively new program called Roane to Tech allows students to transfer from Roane State Community College to Tennessee Tech University to complete their last two years of college, and it provides students additional … [Read More...]

More Education

Recent Posts

  • Obituaries: Jan. 23-27, 2023
  • Speakers mostly support TRISO-X fuel facility at meeting
  • UPF construction could cost more, take longer
  • Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center
  • One person seriously injured in Wednesday crash
  • Oak Ridge EM prepared for cold weather to prevent failures
  • Covenant Health donating land for Roane State health science center
  • School board approves aviation career path
  • Wildcats name new football coach
  • Free dental, vision, medical services in February

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today