Cheshire Woman Spearheads Union Members’ Fight Against Campus Hunger.

Cheshire's Amy Feest checks food pantry donation box at Tunxis Community College

CHESHIRE – Led by Cheshire’s Amy Feest, faculty and staff union members at Tunxis Community College have rallied together to fight hunger on campus.

Starting this semester, Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs) faculty and staff volunteers will operate a food pantry on campus that will be sustained by cash and food donations. The food pantry will be open to both needy students and employees.

“National research shows that 1 in 5 college students experience some form of food insecurity,” said Feest, the 4Cs Faculty Officer at Tunxis who spearheaded the project. “The need for a food pantry on our own campus is just as great. In 2013-14, 64 percent of Tunxis students, a total of 2,960 individuals, suffered from the risk of food insecurity.”

“Our campus is replete with stories of people who are going hungry and need help,” Feest said. “There was the case of one student who was living in a car and had not eaten in two days. He was really hungry. If we can’t help them to meet the most basic of human needs, how can we expect them to focus on school?”

It’s not only students who have hunger issues, she said. “Many of the part-time professors who teach them face the same hunger problems.”

When the problem of hunger on campus gained national attention earlier this year, Feest resolved to do something about it at Tunxis. She brought together a committee of people from all parts of the campus to look into the matter and put together a proposal, which they brought it to the attention of college President Cathryn Addy. “She loved it,” Feest said.

The next step would be to find space, fixtures and furniture. “We went to the head of facilities, to see if we could find some space,” she said. “We were given a small office near the student lounge in Founder’s Hall.”

Next, they went to the maintenance staff, she said. “They gave us the furniture and fixtures we needed,” she said. “Then, the Student Government Association (SGA) stepped in and gave us $500 for food and bins to hold the goods and the 4Cs contributed more than 100 recycled food bags.”

To stock the pantry with goods, the committee conducted a food and goods drive. “Thanks to donations and contributions, we were able to stock the shelves with food and hygiene products,” she said.

Not only did 4Cs members volunteer their time and money to get the pantry up and running, they also volunteered their time to staff the pantry. “When we advertised that we needed volunteers, dozens stepped forward,” she said. “They were joined by students from the Service Learning and Human Services clubs.”

Feest was impressed by the campus’s response to the idea of starting a food pantry. “This is what happens when a group of people want to get things done,” she said. “It was a true campus-wide initiative. It was gratifying to see the campus come together around an issue like this.”

Another person who was impressed by this was 4Cs President Bryan Bonina of Bristol, who is employed as a graphics specialist at Tunxis. “Hats off to my many colleagues who gave their time and money to help create the food pantry and make it work,” he said. “Their hard work and willingness to get involved is an example of the 'Culture of Commitment' that is common to 4Cs members across the state."

“Social service efforts like this make me proud of our members,” he said.

The Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges represents some 4,000 faculty and professional staff at Connecticut's 12 community colleges.