Donations are urgently needed at UT Martin for students who are affected by food insecurity.
To meet that need, Student Government Association will have a Day of Giving for the Skyhawks Share program from 11 am. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov.30, at the Dining Hall. This is a day that students can transfer up to five meal swipes from their meal plan to Skyhawks Share.
John Abel, assistant vice chancellor of Student Affairs, says that during the 2021-2022 academic school year, the Skyhawks Share program helped 52 students. So far this semester, 39 students have benefited from Skyhawks Share, so more donations are needed.
Skyhawks Share is possible thanks to the partnership with SGA, Sodexo and Student Affairs. Students who are approved to participate in Skyhawks Share could receive 10 meal swipes to their meal plan to be used in the Dining Hall.
Meal plans that students purchase during a semester are not transferable to the following semester. However, once a meal is transferred to the Skyhawks Share program, those swipes do not expire till it goes to a student in need.
The university also sponsors Captain’s Pantry, another program to help feed students. Captain’s Pantry is located in the lobbies of Ellington and Cooper Hall. Donations of nonperishable and shelf-stable food items are significantly needed, says Abel. The food pantry is open 365 days a year for current students and is maintained by the Office of Housing. Captain’s Pantry depends on donations to operate.
Ryan Martin, director of Housing, says that healthier shelf-stable ready-meal items are always needed. Suggestions of items to donate include nonfrozen microwave meals, soup, chili, Ramen noodles, applesauce, canned pasta, tuna, condiments to make sandwiches, peanut butter, jelly and honey. Breakfast items like oats, cereal, shelf-stable milk, breakfast bars, pop-tarts, etc., are always in demand. Other items that can be donated are snack cakes, popcorn and chips. Any nonperishable donated item could be brought to Ellington Hall’s front desk any day from 8 a.m. to midnight. The Office of Housing will distribute and rotate the items between the two lobbies.
Donations to the food pantry have significantly decreased this year, so the pantry is trying to meet the demand with gift funds. A recent UT Alumni fundraiser raised $15,000 in funds, including a $5,000 matching gift from UT system President Randy Boyd. Those who would like to make a monetary donation to the food pantry may go to:
• give.utm.edu
• Click on Make a donation
• Click on Search for College, School, or Preferred Fund
• Search for Captain’s Pantry
Boyd challenged UT Martin and UT Knoxville in October to a food pantry challenge. Boyd’s challenge was that if over $10,000 were raised combined from both schools, then he would donate $5,000 to each school’s pantry. The food pantry challenge was on Oct. 22, and over $24,000 ($8,000 from UTM and $16,000 from UTK) was raised. Both schools will receive a matching $5,000 for their school food pantry.
Any current UTM student in need of temporary assistance should complete the following form for meal swipes from Shyhawks Share: https://runway.utm.edu/submitter/form/start/283315
The UTM Skyhawks Share and Captain’s Pantry program started in 2017.
For more information about the Skyhawks Share program, e-mail John Abel at jabel@utm.edu, call him at 731-881-7525, or visit him at the Office of Student Life, 245L Boling University Center.
