Liberal Arts Food Drive Supports Homecoming, Islanders Athletics and Student Wellness
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Thanks to a recent highly-successful food drive, the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi simultaneously supported Homecoming festivities, Islanders Athletics and student wellness. In the weeks leading up to Homecoming Week, the College hosted a food drive to benefit Izzy’s Food Pantry, and in return, CLA faculty and staff who donated non-perishable food items earned free tickets to the Feb. 7 Islanders Women’s Basketball game versus Sam Houston State, which was also dubbed “CLA Game Night.”
"It feels great to be able to contribute to this worthy cause and help the Islander community,” said Dr. Mark Hartlaub, CLA dean. “I hope the food donation helps students in need, but even more so, I want to be able to serve as an example of how different areas of the University can come together to not only assist students, but raise awareness of some of the important issues our students are facing."
By the end of the drive, 172 pounds of food was delivered to Izzy’s Food Pantry. The haul included 132 individual food items, including 40 jars of peanut butter and 17 jars of jelly – just in time for February’s “Spread the Love” food drive. To date, this is the largest single donation to the pantry from a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi academic college.
“We are grateful for this show of support to Izzy’s Food Pantry and the students it supports,” said Dr. Lisa O. Perez, Assistant Vice President for Student Life at A&M-Corpus Christi.
The mid-week Homecoming game against the Sam Houston Bearkats extended the Islanders Women’s winning streak to four games, with a final score of 62-48. During halftime, Hartlaub was honored to receive a signed game ball for supporting the team through the purchase of game tickets.
“All the players signed the ball and then the Islander Women won the game, so it made for a great night,” said Hartlaub.
Since it began offering services to A&M-Corpus Christi in September 2017, Izzy’s Food Pantry has provided food support to more than 130 Islander students. The Izzy’s Food Pantry committee, led by the division of Student Engagement and Success, encourages other colleges, departments and organizations to host food drives. To have a donation barrel dropped off in your office/work space, call 361.825.FOOD or visit foodpantry.tamucc.edu.
In March, Izzy’s Food Pantry will host “Mac Madness,” a food drive that will concentrate on collecting macaroni and cheese, pasta, pasta sauces and other nonperishable meal kits for Islander students in need.
