This year’s Thanksgiving holiday will be better for nearly 100 families in need at Chattahoochee Tech thanks to food donations collected for the college’s “Everything but the Turkey” food drive. Volunteers at the college assembled these donations into food baskets at the Marietta Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 19, for distribution prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Well over a third of all college students struggle with food insecurity, which means they do not get enough to eat,” said Shanequa Nickkie Warrington, the college’s Special Populations & Title IX Coordinator. “This initiative kicks off our effort to address that need here at Chattahoochee Tech, and to establish a food pantry on campus.”
The Thanksgiving food baskets will be provided to those within the college most in need, according to Warrington, who noted that recipients submitted online applications to receive this help. With donation barrels located at seven Chattahoochee Tech campuses, items collected from Chattahoochee Tech employees and community members for the college’s Thanksgiving food baskets included canned corn, canned green beans, mac and cheese, brownie mix, cranberry sauce, instant potatoes, stuffing, gravy packets, yams and canned milk.
The Cobb Community Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to the Chattahoochee Tech Foundation to help create a food pantry at the college’s Marietta Campus for Chattahoochee Tech students. Working to help secure this grant for the college was Chattahoochee Tech Advancement Coordinator Amanda Henderson. “It’s hard for students to be successful in class if they’re struggling to pay for food,” said Henderson. “We want our students to be able to focus on studying and not worry about being hungry. It is vital for us to provide them with the resources they need to succeed.”
