Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Drive targets student hunger

Jessica Barga, Staff Writer

Students and professors donated time and resources during finals week and over winter break to help out those who benefit from the Oxford Choice Pantry.

A food and supplies drive started by Miami University professor Glenn Muschert succeeded in collecting over several dozen grocery bags of goods to donate.

"I was reading The Miami Student and there was an article about the students who go to the food pantry, and it just got me thinking," Muschert said. "A lot of students [in my sociology class] feel that we're studying other people, but we are touched by those issues."

Muschert said hunger is an issue that students can help fix.

Muschert spoke to his own class and sent an email to fellow faculty members to share with their classes, encouraging them to bring in food, hygiene products and household items that could be donated to the pantry for those in need.

"It was a small idea that didn't take much time to do," Muschert said.

After collecting the supplies that students had brought in, Muschert and other participating professors brought them to the Oxford Choice Pantry.

"We were bringing the food in through the back and there were [customers] coming in to get the food … it was a really neat experience," Muschert said.

Overall, Muschert collected about a dozen grocery bags of items from his class, with about a 22 percent participation rate for students in that class.

"I think the important thing is that this was a kind of grassroots movement," Muschert said. "It was just something that we got together and did for the community."

Pepper Stetler was another professor who participated in the food drive.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

"Glenn sent the email [after reading] The Miami Student article, and it was so easy to do … the response from my students was really impressive," Stetler said. "I was really proud of Miami students for how they responded," adding that her classes provided about 15 grocery bags of items to donate.

First-year Megan Dunagan said she was not aware of the food drive at the time, but is supportive of the idea of helping out people in need, especially other students.

"Students have other things to worry about rather than getting their next meal … they should just be focused on getting their degree," Dunagan said.