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Legislators Donate to MWCC Food Pantry

MWCC’s legislative delegation donated $300 to the Food for Thought Campus Pantry Tuesday. Pictured from left to right are: MWCC Student Elise Hamblett, MWCC’s Assistant Dean for K-12 Partnerships and Civic Engagement Fagan Forhan, MWCC President James Vander Hooven, Southern New England Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Jana Murphy, MWCC Vice President of External Affairs, Communications and K-12 Partnerships Lea Ann Scales, State Rep. Kimberly N. Ferguson, State Rep. Natalie Higgins, State Rep. Anne Gobi, State Rep. Jon Zlotnik, State Rep. Susannah Whipps, State Rep. Stephan Hay, and Director of the Senator Stephen M. Brewer Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement at MWCC Shelley Nicholson. Not pictured is State Rep. Sheila Harrington was unable to make the event Tuesday but did make a donation to the food pantry.

The North Central region’s legislative delegation donated $300 to Mount Wachusett Community College’s on-campus food pantry Tuesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

“We were talking about the issue of hunger and it was Rep. Higgins out of Leominster who suggested this was something we could do together,” said State Rep. Jon Zlotnik. “This entire delegation is tied to the Mount either here or at the Devens campus so it seemed like a natural fit.”

The Food for Thought Campus Pantry serves MWCC students. The pantry will be giving out 80 holiday meals this Thanksgiving in a partnership with MWCC’s Student Government Association. These 80 meals are made up of 1,200 donated items amounting to 955 pounds of food.

The food pantry allows any student registered for at least one credit to sign up for food benefits. By being located on campus, students are better able to access food services. Since the pantry opened on October 19, over 50 students have signed up to receive services through the food pantry. There have been over 5,000 items donated to the pantry to date.

The Food for Thought Campus Pantry is operated in partnership with the Gardner Community Action Committee, which will provide food items for students living in the following towns: Gardner, Templeton, Westminster, Ashburnham, and Hubbardston.