Typically the BYOB memos are saved for the weekend, but SIU Sustainability thought otherwise. Students filed into the student center Wednesday with empty backpacks and grocery bags after being told to bring their own bags for the debut of the student food pantry.

The event was held from 10a.m. to 2p.m. on the first floor of the Student Center in the former Freshens Smoothie location. The pantry, put on by the Sustainability Office, gathered 650 pounds of food total. Along with their bags, students were told to bring their student ID’s.

They chose from a broad selection of food ranging from canned vegetables, peanut butter, snack cakes, and pastas. The pantry also had non-food items like mouthwash, Swiffer mops, and shampoo.

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The items were collected through a program called Give and Go, also provided by the sustainability office. The program puts collection boxes in each residence hall for students looking to get rid of unwanted items during move out time in May.

Kris Schachel, the SIU Sustainability Coordinator, said Give and Go is a good way to repurpose items students no longer need that would have been thrown away.

Schachel initially proposed the idea of a student food pantry.

“At the end of the semester, they’re concentrated on finals and packing up and getting out. A lot of little details just kind of fall through the cracks. And we try to catch those,” she said.

Give and Go was in its second run this spring when Myah Gary, a doctoral student studying health education from Carbondale, decided to do a little extra. She spent a month labeling and organizing all of the items. She currently works as the recycling graduate assistant for the office.

“We’re hoping to make this something that’s permanent,” she said. “We’re doing this right now as a trial run, but we’re hoping its something that continues because it seems like its something the students need,” she said.

Gary added she could relate to students in need and wishes she had access to a program like this when she was an undergraduate student.

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“It’s near and dear to my heart because during my undergrad I had a friend who didn’t have any money for food and she went weeks without food and we didn’t know until a lot later,” she said.

Vinny Colantonio, a senior studying plant biology from Bensenville, said it’s been hard to buy food after the 20-hour cap was enforced for students with jobs through the university.

“This really helps out because we’re barely scraping by on minimum wage,” Colantonio said.

He is currently a research assistant at the department of plant and soil science.

Namone McCoy, a junior from Chicago studying early childhood development, also appreciated the help.

“I’m actually very grateful because I’m a student plus I’m a mother and a wife, and we only the have the little income that I have,” she said.

Previously, the goods collected through Give and Go were donated to local thrift shops, animal shelters and other help agencies.

The Sustainability Office reached out to students through the Facebook, e-mail and word of mouth. A total of 56 students attended the food pantry.

“I think we’ve definitely established a need,” Schachel said.