Thank you to all of our amazing supporters! There's still time to help us reach our next goal of $6,000 to ensure all Comets have food this school year.

Testimonial

  

“Comet Cupboard relieved stress during a time when İ struggled to balance financial and academic responsibilities. İts heartwarming to know such a compassionate effort exists here on campus. The Comet Cupboard serves a practical as well as a symbolic purpose.”

“I had spent one and half months in this country and lost 14 pounds before I got to know about the Comet Cupboard. I didn’t know how to cope. This is when I went to the cupboard. It helped me stop having hungry evenings after class. I really appreciate everyone behind this initiative, and thank each one of them for their contribution.”

We Need You

The Comet Cupboard aims to raise $1,000 to provide a healthy supply of food items for the fall semester, furthering our ability to ensure all UT Dallas students can meet their dietary and personal care needs.

The Comet Cupboard is a UT Dallas food pantry initiative dedicated to helping students in need. Its primary mission is to provide necessary food and personal care items to members of the UT Dallas community, but its impact reaches much further. The Comet Cupboard acts as a service learning component of the undergraduate academic experience and strives to cultivate a campus culture where the community is valued above individualism. Established in 2012, the cupboard has had on average 100 volunteers per semester resulting in around 13,500 volunteer hours in total.

The cupboard engages the UT Dallas community in several ways. We host drives both semesters in which different departments and student organizations compete with each other to raise the most amount of items. In the fall, we host a variety of events during National Hunger and Homelessness awareness week to increase awareness and participation at the cupboard. We have monthly opportunities for different departments to be our “Shelf Stars” and raise donations for us. Outside of the UT Dallas community, we are also members of the College and University Food Bank alliance to connect with other food pantries as well.

Why Support Us

Recent research sheds much-needed light on the issue of food and housing security on college campuses. Many are surprised to learn that 81% of food insecure college students report that being hungry has kept them from reaching their full academic potential. Additionally, food insecure college students are more likely to face homelessness and mental health challenges, such as depression and anxiety.

According to college students surveyed in the College and University Food Bank Alliance’s Hunger on Campus Report:

·         44% cut the size of or skipped their meals because they didn’t have enough money to buy food.

·         35% felt hungry but didn’t eat because they didn’t have enough money to buy food.

·         20% did not eat for a whole day because they didn’t have enough money to buy food.

·         53% report missing a class because of hunger or housing problems.

·         55% did not buy a required textbook because of hunger or housing problems.

·         25% dropped a class because of hunger or housing problems.