With most of the Mississippi State University community gone for the holiday season, some will remain in Starkville through the holidays.
To help give the students remaining a good holiday experience, from Nov. 27 to Dec. 7 students were given the opportunity to purchase non-perishable items on their block meal plans to be donated to students who do not have the means to return home for Christmas. The Maroon Volunteer Center, MSU Dining Services, and the MSU Student Association then distributed the care packages to students.
Remaining items were donated to area food pantries.
”We tried to come up with an idea to help students use their meal plans towards the end of the semester, but allow it to go to a worthy cause,” said MSU Student Association Chief of Staff Nick Harris. “We started looking for food pantries to donate items to. Students could go into the P.O.D.s (small food stores on campus) and purchase canned items with their own money or with meal plans or even bring in canned items of their own and donate them inside the P.O.D. in the Union.”
Harris said he reached out to Maroon Volunteer CenterDirector Meggan Franks, who suggested letting the collected food go to students staying behind for the holidays.
In total, 19 care packages were distributed to students who had nowhere else to go, or weren’t part of any other supporting campus organizations.
“We also provided them with the food pantries that are running over the break, as well as Casserole Kitchen,” Franks said.
Harris said this was the first year the drive has been held.
“During this this holiday season, it’s very important that we give back to others, and I think it’s very important to give to people in our own backyard first,” Harris said.
A similar program allowing MSU students to donate block meals to other MSU students in need will go into place in the coming semester.