Student members of the international honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, hosted a food drive this past February that sought to help a local charity restock its food stores.
In collaboration with an American Fork and Spanish Fork charity called Tabitha’s Way, a charity that works to alleviate local food insecurity, PTK members of the UVU chapter gathered cans for their February service project in order to help restock the local food pantry.
“Our officer team [worked] really hard on [making] this project happen,” said Abigail Gutierrez Camona, president of the UVU PTK chapter. “It was the first time in a while for us [to plan] an event on campus. Working with event services on campus was definitely a learning experience and we are really happy to have this kind of opportunity [to help] a local food pantry.”
Donation cans were located all over campus and students could deposit any manner of canned goods into them to help with the food drive. Tabitha’s Way was founded in 2010 by Wendy and Jody Osborne, inspired by the biblical story of Tabitha who gave food and clothing to the poor.
“Hungry people come from all walks of life. Most are our neighbors who have fallen on tough times and need temporary food assistance,” Tabitha’s website reads. “When disaster strikes, such as a job loss, medical bills, a car accident, divorce, disability, the death of a spouse etc., these people often have to choose between housing, medical care, paying utilities, or purchasing food.”
According to Tabitha’s way, 50% of the people the pantry services are children. In the long run, the charity hopes to create “no hunger zones,” to mitigate food insecurity among those who need assistance financially and emotionally. “[We] hope to share this vision and intellectual proprietary information with our colleagues and other communities to help spread the no hunger zone concept.”
The subject of food insecurity is one that many students can relate to. A survey conducted by Temple University found that nearly 39% of students attending two-year or four-year schools had experienced food insecurity in the last 30 days.
“I personally think that giving back to the community is really important and it’s a productive way to get involved,” said Camona. “I feel the involvement of our members was also affected by the pandemic, but we hope to increase our members participation and our goal is to benefit other students too with [our] service activities.”
PTK’s members are sworn to community service, and the members at UVU’s chapter have begun planning for their March service project. The honor society plans to take members and others to volunteer at the Humane Society of Utah Mar. 19 located in Murray. Those interested in participating can carpool with members meeting in lot L4 at 11 a.m., located in front of the Fulton Library.
“If there are any questions about the activity, people can email us at ptk@uvu.edu, comment or send us a private message on Instagram or Facebook,” offered Camona.
For more information about Tabitha’s Way visit their website. To learn more or get involved with PTK and the UVU chapter see their Instagram. If you are experiencing food insecurity, please visit UVU’s food pantry.
