EDUCATION

Many hands make light work packaging meals for University of Akron students in need

Akron Beacon Journal

The organizers of the University of Akron's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event thought it would take a couple of hours for volunteers to pack 150 meals for students in need.

So many people showed up on Monday, it only took about eight minutes. From breakfast cereal to taco kits, the volunteer assembly lines made quick work turning $1,000 worth of food items into meals for students struggling with food insecurity to eat on the go or cook in their dorm rooms or homes.

Nadia Dansani, a Kent State student, volunteers with University of Akron students Monday by assembling meal kits for students who are in need at the UA student union.

"I was shocked," Alison Doehring, director of the university's ZipAssist program, which hosted the event, said. ZipAssist is an office at the university that provides support for students, from a food pantry and dorm room supplies to mental health referrals and emergency grants for financial emergencies like car repairs.

The program relies on grants, donations and volunteers, many of whom are students who have benefited from the program.

"We will hear from students that they want to give back in some way," Doehring said.

Student volunteers assemble meal kits for students who are in need at the University of Akron student union Monday.

The need for help remains high, she said. Last semester, the Campus Cupboard food pantry served more than 1,100 students, for a total of 4,000 touch points with students in need.

The meals packaged Monday were purchased with a grant from ServeOhio, the statewide commission on service and volunteerism. The commission issued 21 grants across the state for service projects on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Others included a dining room renovation at a women's shelter in Medina County and renovation and cleaning of a food pantry in Canton.

With $1,000 of food bagged in under 10 minutes and 50 volunteers still wanting to help, Doehring went to find more projects that needed doing, and brought up bundles of fabric for the group to turn into blankets.

A student volunteer personalizes a note for a Campus Cupboard meal kit at the UA student union Monday.

Junior Sadaira Morris said she was eager to help on her day off from school.

"I just want to make a difference," she said.

Freshman Gracyl Collins said when she came to the school, she would have loved to receive a gift like a blanket assembled by other students.

"I would definitely feel a lot more welcomed, especially handmade like that," she said.

Sophie Senning, a third-year student at the University of Akron, loads up one of the walk-in pantries at the student union.

Senior Alyssa Miller spent her winter break volunteering abroad in Thailand and Laos, and said she was happy to pitch in one more day of service. She saw the call for volunteers in a campus email and thought it would be fun to help.

"I wasn't doing anything else today," she said.

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.