Roane State earns bragging rights in ‘Food Drive Challenge’
Roane State Community College earned bragging rights in this year’s College System of Tennessee Food Drive Challenge. But more importantly, students experiencing food insecurity are receiving the assistance they need thanks to the generosity of the campus community.
The Annual Food Drive Challenge was conceived by the College System’s Student Government Presidents’ Council 22 years ago as a project to help fellow students and others in their communities. All Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) institutions participating this year were grouped by student enrollment and sector to determine winners of the friendly competition that wrapped up Dec. 8.
RSCC reported the most donations of any Tier 1 community college with approximately 6,979 items. Donations were primarily monetary and came from RSCC employees and members of the community. The gifts will help sustain the college’s food pantries into the new year.
Across the TBR system, participating colleges collected a total of 75,948 items, including $27,859 in monetary donations (each dollar counted as two items). The food is donated to campus food pantries, which are open to students in need, as well as local organizations, programs and food banks in the colleges’ broader communities.
Roane State continues to assist students with increased food insecurity issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.