Civil Service Council’s 2019 Spring Drive for student food pantry a success

Civil Service Council member Hayley Helpingstine (right) and Caleb, a volunteer from the School Street Food Pantry, bring in food from the 2019 Spring Drive.

The Civil Service (CS) Council would like to thank the campus community for the caring response in collecting items for the School Street Food Pantry. The items collected through the CS Council Spring Drive will be used to stock shelves at the pantry.

“Many of the collection bins were overflowing, and some had to be emptied more than once,” said CS Council member Hayley Helpingstine, who oversaw the Spring Drive.

A bin collection overflowing with items for the School Street Food Pantry.

One of the founders of the pantry, graduate student Jeanna Campbell, noted more students came through the pantry as a result of seeing the collection bins across campus. “I think those boxes provided visibility for the pantry, and gave students the opportunity to learn about our services,” she said.

The area around Illinois State University is considered a “food desert,” because of the lack of access to fresh and affordable groceries.

More information can be found on the School Street Food Pantry website, or by emailing schoolstreetfoodpantry@gmail.com. The pantry is open to all students from 4-6 p.m. each Friday at the First United Methodist Church next to Milner Library.