Food pantry opens at college

Friday, February 22, 2013

Tags:

durham county, local/state

DURHAM (WTVD) -- A new food pantry hasn't been open for even a month, and already Durham Tech has seen hundreds of students come through its doors.

Many say they've been forced at times to choose between eating and paying tuition. Demand has been so great that the college has had a tough time keeping food on the shelves.

The stories of students sometimes being unable to make ends meet inspired the creation of the school's New Harvest Food Pantry - one of a handful at community colleges around the state.

The idea came last year when students gave away 50 food bags in less than 10 minutes.

"I don't think we expected the need to be so incredibly great. We didn't expect students to need to visit every single day to get something to fill their bellies before they go to class because they didn't have food at home," explained organizer Sally Parlier with AmeriCorp Vista.

The pantry needs more food. Items like cereal and tuna are especially useful. They also need volunteers to help sort and stock items so they can get them to the students.

If you can help, go to http://www.durhamtech.edu/service/pantry.htm