Comet Cupboard: Spring Checklist for a #HungerFreeUTD

Students should not have to worry about being hungry when they’re trying to learn. Donate today to help the Comet Cupboard check off it's spring checklist for #HungerFreeUTD:

• Enable the Comet Cupboard to tell the story of how Comet student innovation as the first university food pantry established in Texas establishes it as a useful resource for other current and aspiring university food pantries. 
• Increases the amount of fresh produce, dairy products and other fresh food the Comet Cupboard is able to distribute to hungry Comets.
• Support a revamped volunteer management process that allows more structure and continued leadership development for volunteers, a reliable and sustainable cohort of student volunteers to ensure smoother distribution operations and the development of a core Comet Cupboard C-Suite Volunteer initiative.

With your donation, you will:

• Support travel costs for the Comet Cupboard student coordinator to attend the Universities Fighting World Hunger Conference in Fayeteville, Arkansas. The Comet Cupboard student coordinator will be presenting a poster session detailing the nuances of the Comet Cupboards partnership with the North Texas Food Bank.
• Support transportation costs for larger donations from the North Texas Food Bank, local retailers and corporate donors.
• Support the training and continued development of over 200 Comet Cupboard student volunteers. 

The Comet Cupboard food pantry, an on-campus student-led initiative, is dedicated to helping students achieve academic success by alleviating their food insecurity challenges. In addition to distributing both perishable and non-perishable food items, the Comet Cupboard also provides personal care and household items. Around 300 undergraduate Comets are able to engage in volunteerism and leadership with the Comet Cupboard each year as a service-learning experience that helps students value community over individualism. The Comet Cupboard has served over 12,000 students since commencing operations in 2012. The Comet Cupboard is a free service located on the basement level of the Eugene McDermott Library, in MC 1.608. 

The Comet Cupboard is led by:

Director – Hillary Beauchamp Campbell

Program Specialist – Bel Khuu

Student Coordinator – Raviv Kruger

Student Worker – Chase Mueller

Student Worker – Daniel Cheng

Student Worker – Fatima Nawfa

Want to help the Comet Cupboard in a more hands-on way? Join us for the 2024 Raising Cans, a friendly and competitive “can-struction” event designed to bridge the Comet Cupboard’s distribution of food and personal care items through the summer months. We welcome teams of students, staff, faculty, alumni and members of the external business and residential communities. Interested? Learn more here: https://utdallas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8p1I1U17bkf20jc 

The Comet Cupboard service could not exist or grow without the help of donors. Donations fund all of the food and personal care items distributed from the Comet Cupboard, as well as day-to-day operations, volunteer training and support, outreach, staff compensation and other critical initiatives that help ensure that Comets don’t need to worry about their basic needs during their academic journey.

You can learn more about the Comet Cupboard here and follow us Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook