Stephen F. Austin State University students in the Student Association of Nutrition and Dietetics collected 150 items to donate to SFA’s Lumberjack Pantry in March for National Nutrition Month. Pictured, from left, are Esha Ganguly, a senior from Houston and SAND treasurer; Ashley Liston, a senior from Austin and SAND president; and Margo Thompson, a senior from Mobile, Alabama, and SAND vice president.
According to Feeding Texas, a statewide network of food banks, 29% of students at four-year universities experience hunger. To counter this trend, Stephen F. Austin State University students stepped up to support their community.
The Student Association of Nutrition and Dietetics completed a weeklong fundraiser and collected donation items for SFA’s Lumberjack Pantry, an initiative dedicated to helping the SFA community with basic needs including food, hygiene and baby-related items, for National Nutrition Month in March. SAND is a student organization that prioritizes community nutrition and outreach and participated in this initiative to bring attention to food insecurity.
“After reviewing all the charities in the area, supporting the Lumberjack Pantry felt like such a meaningful way for SAND to give back to the SFA community that has given us so much,” said Margo Thompson, a senior dietetics and nutritional sciences major from Mobile, Alabama, and SAND’s vice president. “Knowing friends and classmates who have personally faced food insecurity made this project especially close to my heart.”
Emphasizing its commitment to community service, SAND partnered with the Lumberjack Pantry to promote its services during an SFA Instagram takeover for National Nutrition Month. They continued the collaboration by organizing a food drive, resulting in over 150 donations.
“It was really touching to see our members, both students and staff, come together, gathering food and personal care items with so much care and kindness,” Thompson said. “It’s easy to fall behind when you lack the proper nutrients you need to keep your brain functioning to its full potential, so knowing our efforts would help relieve even a small part of that struggle means the world to me. Moments like this remind me how strong and compassionate our community is when we come together.”
To learn more about opportunities available to you with SFA’s dietetics and nutritional sciences program, visit gosfa.com/3xfqiYv.
ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 40 academic facilities, 11 residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.
By University Marketing Communications
