BRTC food pantry volunteers Christina Derbes and Erin Faulkner stock the food pantry.
The Black River Technical College (BRTC) food pantry recently received two grants equaling $7,000.
A $5,000 grant from the Arkansas Division of Higher Education and a $2,000 mini-grant from the Blue & You Foundation has enabled the BRTC food pantry to expand their inventory allowing the pantry to help additional students.
Through the hard work of Representative Jamie Scott, with funding support from the legislature and former Governor Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas Division of Higher Education was able to extend the opportunity for public & private institutions to update or establish campus food pantries with help of a $5,000 grant per institution. Participating institutions also provided ADHE with a public-facing link to a pantry Amazon Wishlist so that others may also help contribute to these local on-campus food pantries. The links to each institution’s Amazon Wishlist is listed below if you would like to donate to any of them, according to adhe.edu.
BRTC’s Amazon Wishlist link is https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1F43ZTBQZORME.
The Blue & You Foundation supplies mini-grants ranging from $500 and $2,000 for food pantry support, health initiatives (in public schools, colleges, and universities), and emergency response equipment. The Blue & You Foundations mission is to achieve the goal of better health for all Arkansans, the Blue & You Foundation seeks to harness the power of partnership. By strategically focusing its grant funding on community-based solutions, the Foundation hopes to nurture community health leadership, foster collaboration and innovation, and leverage financial, human and community resources to produce a measurable, positive impact, according to blueandyoufoundationarkansas.org.
Many BRTC students and their families struggle to access adequate food. To help students mitigate this need, BRTC accepts donations of food, Walmart and grocery store gift cards, and money to stock the BRTC food pantry.
The BRTC food pantry is excited to help students in need. A student must complete an application and produce a current BRTC student I.D.
Food bags consist of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days for a family of four. Breakfasts include a box of cereal or pancake mix with syrup or oatmeal. Lunches include soup, ramen noodles, or mac and cheese. Dinners include beans and cornbread, spaghetti noodles with meat sauce and 2 cans of vegetables, tuna or chicken helper with tuna or chicken and two cans of vegetables. Snacks of peanut butter and jelly with crackers or pop tarts, and cereal bars are also included.
The food pantry also distributes baby formula, diapers, and personal hygiene items as available. Other items are available occasionally depending on what has been donated, said organizer Christina Derbes.
The pantry is a collaboration between the Student Government Association and the Nutrition and Dietetics Club.
For more information or to donate, contact Christina Derbes by phone at (870) 248-4000, ext. 4168 or by email at christina.derbes@blackrivertech.edu.
Donations submitted through the BRTC Foundation are tax-deductible. Donations can be given online at https://brtc.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/brtc/donation.jsp.