Food insecurity among college students is a serious issue, including at NC State. A November 2020 study found 23% of NC State students had experienced food insecurity in the previous 30 days. 

We can help close this gap by supporting Feed the Pack. 

CALS is sponsoring the month of March for the Dean’s Challenge to Feed the Pack. This friendly competition among colleges and departments is part of the Year of Feeding the Pack food drive challenge, which runs through 2022. The challenge is intended to add a fun element to our efforts in helping our Pack community. 

The food drive aims to gather enough food to “Build a Tower” – as tall as a familiar tower on campus! It will take approximately 1.7 million pounds of food to reach this goal.

We hope you will support the initiative by donating to the Feed the Pack Pantry in March – and continuing all year long. Pantry coordinator Dana Petre recommends dropping off donations at the pantry on Mondays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. or 4 p.m.-6 p.m., but other times are available. 

To help the pantry meet its most urgent needs, visit the Feed the Pack website for a list of the most needed items. 

Please read these important instructions before donating: 

• You must provide your name, email, and department to ensure it is logged as part of the year-long dean’s challenge.
• The panty can only accept unused, unopened items with a sell-by date.
• Feed the Pack does not accept donations from 12-2 p.m. on open days and is closed on Thursdays.

Ways to Give

There are multiple ways to donate to Feed the Pack during the food drive challenge, including perishable and non-perishable food, monetary donations and items from their Amazon Wishlist. Everything – including monetary donations – will count toward the food drive goal. (Feed the Pack has an equation to translate monetary donations into pounds.) 

Help Spread the Word

Please spread the word in the CALS Community about this vital campus initiative. Subscribe to the Feed the Pack newsletter, share information on social media, attend events or post flyers in your buildings. Also, send any news stories or articles about food insecurity you find to Dana Petre at Feed the Pack. This information helps them make decisions on how to best serve our university community.  

Contact 

For questions about the Dean’s Challenge to Pack the Pantry or Feed the Pack, contact:

• Julie Ridenour, CALS Dean’s Office: jhrideno@ncsu.edu 
• Dana Petre, Feed the Pack: dmpetre@ncsu.edu 

Together, let’s Feed the Pack!

Feed the Pack is a community-based initiative sustained by the greater NC State community to combat the food insecurity experienced by members of the Wolfpack family.