Campus Happenings
Additional Food Assistance for Students in Need
RALEIGH, N.C. (February 5, 2018) - Wake Technical Community College opened a food pantry at its Beltline Education Center today in an effort to provide more assistance to students in need. In a 2016 survey, 41 percent of Wake Tech students reported experiencing food insecurity, and 29 percent said hunger or housing problems were affecting their academic performance.
The food pantry, called “The Nest,” will serve students in Wake Tech’s College and Career Readiness programs. Those programs include High School Equivalency Preparation, Adult High School, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Adult Basic Education, including TOPS, which serves adults with intellectual disabilities.
“Wake Tech recognizes that educating our students often means going beyond the classroom to meet their needs,” says Roberta Mahatha, Wake Tech Coordinator of Transitional Services. “Having a place on campus to send our students in crisis is gratifying.”
The Nest at the Beltline Education Center is the college’s fourth food pantry. Similar pantries are open on the Southern Wake, Northern Wake, and Perry Health Sciences campuses. Wake Tech students, faculty, and staff, as well as campus clubs and organizations, contribute inventory through food drives and “sponsor a shelf” initiatives. Since the Nest first opened in 2014, it has received 16,650 pounds of non-perishable food donations to date, and more than 1,300 students have received vital food assistance.
