Student Success
Thanksgiving Meal Share Partnership Helps Students in Need
RALEIGH, N.C. (October 28, 2024) – Wake Tech is sharing the spirit of Thanksgiving with students in need, thanks to a holiday meal-share partnership between the college, Food Lion and Publix.
Care Center team members and staff volunteers recently packed 300 meal kit bags filled with a dozen non-perishables for a delicious holiday meal, including a turkey voucher, instant mashed potatoes and gravy, canned vegetables, muffin mix and ingredients for apple and pumpkin pies.
Beginning November 4, students who reserved a meal can pick up their bags at their closest campus. The college also plans to give food gift cards to additional students in need.
"Thanksgiving is a special opportunity to create memories with those close to you. However, because there is a financial burden attached to the celebration, it can also be a time of stress," said Alex Conte, a student support specialist at Wake Tech. "Each year, the Care Center tries to alleviate that stress for as many students as possible through our 'A Wake and Thankful' food distribution event."
According to Feeding America, more than 560,000 people are food insecure across the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina's 34-county service area. That's nearly 111,000 more people than last year.
The Thanksgiving meal-share program is one of several ways the college supports students who lack food security, which can have a significant impact on student success. Research shows that students who experience food insecurity have lower odds of graduating because of the negative effects of hunger on academic performance, inability to focus on class and poor health.
The Nest, which operates food pantries at Scott Northern Wake, Southern Wake, Perry Health Sciences and Wake Tech East locations is a free resource available to all Wake Tech students. Students can shop monthly and build their own custom food orders online. So far this year, the Nest has served nearly 550 students and their households.
Students can also stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables at free pop-up produce markets throughout the semester, thanks to donations from the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
Wake Tech gladly accepts donations of non-perishable goods for The Nest. Monetary donations can be made to the Wake Tech Foundation.
