The UMass Basic Needs Initiative and the UMass Amherst Community Campaign (UMACC) are coordinating Pack the Pantry, a campuswide effort through April 29 to fill the Campus Pantry with non-perishable foods. 

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The Campus Pantry, located in the lower level of 472 North Pleasant Street, provides free groceries to support the well-being of UMass students, faculty, staff and their families. Members of the university community at collection bins located across campus and no donation is too small. Donations such as canned soups, chili, pasta and beans, instant oatmeal packets, cereal or granola bars, snacks, and single serving packs such as applesauce and instant noodles are ideal. 

The drive will conclude on Founders Day, the annual campus celebration of UMass’s founding on April 29, 1863. A donation bin will be located on Haigis Mall North from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. during the day’s festivities.

Thanks to the generosity of students, faculty and staff, Pack the Pantry drives have collected over a ton of food since the Campus Pantry opened last September.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of the UMass community,” say Pack the Pantry organizers Bridget Hynes of the Basic Needs Initiatives and Jen Gallant of UMACC. “People continue to show up in the most meaningful ways. What really makes a difference is the variety of items that come in. Having options beyond pantry staples is a game changer for the people who enjoy the pantry, and it wouldn’t be possible without you.”

RecWell club sport student-athletes are volunteering to manage food donation bins all over campus and UMass Moving Services is supporting in transporting the collections.

For more information about the Campus Pantry, visit amherstsurvival.org/campus-pantry. For questions regarding Pack the Pantry, contact Gallant at [email protected] or Hynes at [email protected].