Phipps Bend TCAT students put together 550 Christmas meal boxes
By STAFF REPORT news@therogersvillereview.com
Students from the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Phipps Bend helped make the holidays a little cheerier for local residents by packing hundreds of Christmas food boxes.
Of One Accord Ministry in Rogersville has been one of the key providers of Christmas dinners for the underprivileged for over 35 years, but that is possible only through the support of a wide variety of community members.
One such example happened on Dec. 17 when Scott McDonald, an instructor at the Phipps Bend TCAT in Surgoinsville, rounded up 25 students who volunteered to put together 550 of the food boxes. Those boxes then were distributed to Hawkins County families on Dec. 21 in Rogersville and Church Hill.
“The ministry staff each year are amazed to witness these students put boxes together in record time,” said Of One Accord Director Sheldon Livesay.
110,851 food items statewide
The Phipps Bend TCAT was part of a statewide effort to make sure all Tennesseans have a good meal on Christmas.
Tennessee’s community and technical colleges donated or collected the equivalent of 110,851 food items during the College System of Tennessee’s 26th annual Food Drive Challenge. The donations go to campus food pantries for students in need and local food programs serving their communities.
The Food Drive Challenge was conceived in 1999 by the Student Government Presidents Council — student leaders from across the state — as a project to help fellow students and others in need. The campus communities have kept the campaign going annually since in a friendly competition to see which can collect the most, in tiers based on college enrollment size. Cash donations are counted as two items for each dollar.
Including this year’s collections, more than 1.8 million items of food and funds have been donated and collected over the 26 years of the challenge.
This year’s campaign saw 23 colleges across the state participate. This year’s challenge winners in each enrollment tier — with the total items and funds converted to items collected — were:
Community colleges: Roane State Community College — 6,108 items; Pellissippi State Community College — 49,470 items.
TCATs: TCAT Hartsville — 3,542 items; TCAT Henry/Carroll — 4,850 items; TCAT Northwest — 12,312 items.
Food items and funds are used to stock campus food pantries and also support community food banks, nonprofits that provide food assistance, and other local support agencies.
Donations may still be made online through the College System Food Pantry Campaign at:
https://www.tbr.edu/advancement/college-system-tennessee-food-pantry-campaign
The spirit of giving
In addition to the food drive, most of the colleges also participate in other local programs in the spirit of giving back to their communities. Examples include TCAT Crump, TCAT Jacksboro and Dyersburg State Community College adopting angels from Angel and Giving Tree programs to provide children, seniors and others with gifts this holiday season.
Roane State connected with a local nonprofit organization to provide children’s gifts to parenting students, while TCAT Morristown collected toys and gifts for 25 children in the community. TCAT Northwest and several others packaged holiday food for families over the holidays. TCAT Dickson hosted fundraisers for campus members facing hardships, TCAT McMinnville collected pet food and supplies, Pellissippi State collected school supplies and hygiene items, and TCAT Henry/Carroll donated to the local school district’s backpack program.
Dyersburg State also hosted a Backpack Blessing Supply drive for hygiene and clothing items for unsheltered residents in the community. Pellissippi State packed and distributed 150 Thanksgiving food boxes and its Student Care and Advocacy Office, along with the Stay Strong Success Center, served over 300 students hot meals during finals.
The generosity continues as some campuses continue to collect items for donation. Jackson State is wrapping up its toy drive and will donate the toys to children in the community, and Dyersburg State is hosting an Eagle Tree to collect hygiene and school supplies for students into the new year.
These efforts are in addition to bottled water and fundraisers hosted at campuses across the state earlier this fall to support victims of the Hurricane Helene flooding disaster in Northeast Tennessee.
“Everyone is a winner in this challenge! What a wonderful way to support students and give back to our communities,” said Dr. Heidi Leming, Tennessee Board of Regents Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Strategic Partnerships, whose office coordinates the Food Drive Challenge.
Food insecurity is a major challenge on college campuses. A 2023 report by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) cited research concluding that students experiencing food insecurity are less likely to excel academically and more likely to report stress levels that hinder their ability to focus on their studies.
More information about food insecurity among students, and resources such as campus food pantries and other programs, is available on the THEC website at https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/thec/learn-about/task-forces/food-insecurity.html.
