VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Coach Mac Food Pantry works to provide food for students remaining on campus over Thanksgiving break
Kelsey Jones: Hendrick’s Chapel sits on the quad of Syracuse University, offering a place for students to grab a coffee or go to mass. What many don’t know is that, tucked into the basement of the Chapel, the Coach Mac food pantry collects donations for students experiencing food insecurity. Assistant Dean for Student Assistance at Hendrick’s Chapel Alison Murray says the pantry exists to ensure students are thriving on campus.
Alison Murrary: We are here just to serve in any way that we can to make sure everybody here is successful.
Jones: The pantry, available to Syracuse and SUNY ESF students, operates year round, serving upwards of 250 students per week. Murray says for some of those students, Coach Mac is an essential support system.
Murrary: I have personally had students come back and say, ‘This has been a lifeline to me while I have been in college.’ When they have graduated, they may swing through during commencement weekend. They may bring their parents through saying, “Hey I would not have survived had I not had Coach Mac food pantry as a resource.
Jones: Now, as Thanksgiving approaches, Coach Mac is working with campus organizations to ensure they have the food and personal supplies students may need for the break.
Murray: We have right now, I would think about seven or eight drives going concurrently around campus.
Jones: Now, for those students who aren’t leaving campus during Thanksgiving break, the Coach Mac food pantry wants them to know their welcome to stop by Hendrick’s Chapel and come grab some food to help them celebrate this Thanksgiving.
Murray: We do know that there are students that are not going home and we want to make sure that with, you know, dining halls and things being closed that, once again, there are options for them to get food that they need.
Jones: The pantry will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Depending on their demand, they may open again Wednesday the 26. For NCC News, I’m Kelsey Jones.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – Hendrick’s Chapel sits on the quad of Syracuse University, providing a place for students to grab a coffee, do some studying, or go to mass. What many don’t know is that, tucked into the basement of the Chapel, the Coach Mac Food Pantry works to collect donations for students experiencing food insecurity.
Assistant Dean for Student Assistance at Hendrick’s Chapel Alison Murray says the pantry exists to ensure students are thriving on campus.
“We are here just to serve in any way that we can to make sure everybody here is successful,” Murray said.
In order to do so, the pantry works with organizations like Syracuse Banana, the Carriage House and local churches to collect donations of food and personal items. Avaliable to Syracuse and SUNY ESF students, Coach Mac operates year round, serving upwards of 250 students per week according to Murray.
She says the pantry has become and essential support system for numerous students.
“I have personally had students come back and say, ‘This has been a lifeline to me while I have been in college,'” Murray said. “When they have graduated, they may swing through during commencement weekend. They may bring their parents through saying, ‘Hey I would not have survived had I not had Coach Mac food pantry as a resource.'”
Currently, with Thanksgiving approaching, Coach Mac is working with organizations across campus such as greek life to ensure students have the resources they need for the break.
“We have right now, I would think about seven or eight drives going concurrently around campus,” Murray said.
For students who will remain on campus during Thanksgiving break, the pantry will be open during select hours to provide food and personal items.
“We do know that there are students that are not going home and we want to make sure that with, you know, dining halls and things being closed that, once again, there are options for them to get food that they need,” Murray said.
Coach Mac will be open Tuesday, Nov. 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Depending on the demand seen on Tuesday, the pantry may open again Wednesday, Nov. 26.