A new event called Fresh Food Fridays will occur every Friday at 1 p.m. in Fort Hays State University’s quad.
Fresh Food Fridays works in conjunction with the Tiger Food Exchange, located on the first floor of Forsyth Library. Tiger Food Exchange is open to all students and faculty, who can take what they need and give back when they can.
The food offered during Fresh Food Friday will include a variety of foods such as apples, pears, and Colorado peaches to hand out.
Sarah Bailey, coordinator of Fresh Food Friday, plans each Friday by obtaining the food items and distributing them to the FHSU students.
According to Bailey, some of the food is bought through a grant provided by the Campus Food and Hunger Initiatives from the Kansas Health Foundation, while other food is donated by individuals or organizations.
“We have had organizations step up and say can we sponsor a Fresh Food Friday, whether it be watermelon slices or one of them wanted to do a breakfast,” Bailey said.
The Tiger Food Exchange was started in part by Shala Mills, co-chair of the Campus Food and Hunger Initiatives, and two of her students Jordan Schmeidler and Kelly Kuckolls. Schmeidler and Kuckolls were in a food and politics course taught by Mills, which prompted them to know what the need for food was on campus. By sending around a survey, they discovered a great need for food existed.
“Nearly 30 percent of our students were in need of some sort of food assistance,” Bailey said.
The Tiger Food Exchange has a variety of foods including canned food, boxed food, fresh eggs, and gathers items such as small bags of laundry detergent for students and faculty to use. Dillon’s donates fresh eggs each week to the Tiger Food Exchange.
In the case of inclement weather such as rain or snow, Fresh Food Fridays can be found in the Student Union.
For more about the Tiger Food Exchange, click here.