MCC Daily Tribune

MCC's Phi Theta Kappa Members Help Reduce Food Insecurity Among Peers

Note: An abridged version of the article is posted on SUNY's 30 Days of Giving 2020 campaign blog.

A week before Thanksgiving Day, nearly 100 gleeful Monroe Community College students pulled up in their cars to receive holiday meal kits curbside at the Brighton and Downtown campuses. Each kit contained canned food, boxes and bags of ingredients, plus a voucher good for a turkey at any store, to feed a family--all donated by local community partners, including Foodlink.

"All the people who came were very happy and appreciative," said Maryam Masoud, who along with her sister, Freshta, joined other MCC volunteers--made up of students and staff--to distribute kits at the Turkey Drop. The event built on the efforts of MCC's Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society chapter members to research and respond to barriers to student success, including food insecurity among students and families during the fall semester.

MCC students' research showed that consistent access to food is among their peers' most pressing needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the pandemic limiting students' access to both campuses this semester, PTK members volunteered at curbside food distribution events in support of MCC food pantries.

To ensure a bright Thanksgiving for their peers in need, members organized the Turkey Drop in collaboration with the Office of Student Life and Leadership Development and the First Year Experience program.

Students receiving the kits overcame hardships during the semester. They experienced food insecurity and other personal challenges that nearly prevented them from continuing their education. MCC gave them a hand up then in the form of micro-grants through Dreamkeepers and the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation.

"Since the pandemic hit, a lot of our students are dealing with food insecurity, and that's going to affect their progress in school and their mental health," said Masoud, a vice president of PTK who will earn an associate degree in global studies in December 2020. "It's very important to me for students to have access to food and other services, feel valued and know that their college community is thinking of them."

Hency Yuen-Eng
Government and Community Relations
12/21/2020