The Volunteer Action Committee, a student-run, nonprofit organization within the University of Arkansas, helps bring together the Northwest Arkansas Community to battle food insecurity.
The Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry is an on-campus, student-led food bank that serves the University of Arkansas and their households. It provides balanced meals with non-perishables and produce grown in an on-site garden. Clients are given a three-day supply of groceries and personal care items. They are able to visit the food pantry twice a week, on campus.
The Full Circle Food Pantry recently hosted its fifth-annual event, Pack the Pantry. Multiple organizations within the University and local NWA community brought in food donations, or if they were unable, the organizations donated money.
Tyler Merrieghn, the food-drive coordinator for the pantry, said the Pack the Pantry event makes Full Circle a bit hectic.
The event kicked off on Oct. 10 and concluded on Oct. 23. Merrieghn said the event is usually a week, but this year due to COVID-19, the event ran two weeks. The event raised a total of 35,856 items and more than $1,300. Over 40 organizations contributed to the event, including athletic departments, Greek Life chapters, and student alumni associations.
“Since we did have more than 40 organizations participate this year, that means we were receiving around 40 different food drives from those organizations,” Merrieghn said. “So there could be 10 donations coming in a day, and those donations might be more than 2,000 items.”
The Full Circle Food Pantry was originally started in February of 2011 by Julia Lyon, who noticed that students were taking personal Tupperware to food halls and filling it to take back for the weekend. Elizabeth Loudermilk, Volunteer Action Center president said that Lyon noticed that there was food insecurity on campus, so they opened the Full Circle Food Pantry.
“We partnered with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank to learn more about inventory, and how people should be able to qualify for our services,” Loudermilk said, “and what the best terminology is when speaking to our clients.”
The Full Circle Food Pantry has only grown since its beginning, and over the summer of 2020, the pantry served over 3,000 families in the NWA area during COVID-19.
Those who want to donate to the Full Circle Food Pantry are encouraged to drop off items at its building, located behind Bud Walton Hall in designated bins and boxes, or donate online through the VAC website.
https://service.uark.edu/services/pantry/