Green Thumbs, Here’s the Perfect Opportunity to Give Back to FHSU
(Hays, KS, April 12)— The Tiger Pantry offers one of many opportunities to give back to FHSU through volunteering on April 12th. Volunteers interested should show up at either 9am-12pm or 1pm-3pm in clothes they don’t mind getting a little dirty—as they will be elbow-deep in the garden work that goes into providing fresh food at the pantry.
Garden work is one of many Big Event opportunities being hosted on-campus this April 12th as an effort to repay the services offered by our community. These services support people in need on the daily, and now individuals can step in to aid these groups in return. There are up to 20 different opportunities to volunteer, the garden and Tiger Pantry just one amongst them.
Volunteers will be prepping the area for the next season of planting by mowing, moving compost and organizing the garden shed. Every year the garden has to be cleaned, repaired, and reinvigorated to support the next year of crops. The garden is in need of some TLC (time, love and care) in order to give the seedlings the best chance at blossoming this summer and fall. These crops feed directly into the hungry mouths of the Hays community. Peter Tramel, one of the heads of the Tiger Pantry, says, “We use the garden to grow cost-effective nutritious produce for our food pantry.”
The garden is located on-campus, and it is commonly mistaken for a communal garden; however, it was actually created by the Tiger Pantry as a way to supplement their weekly Fresh Food Fridays. Whenever the crop rotation allows, the Tiger Pantry uses these garden-grown delicacies to feed those on campus struggling with food insecurity.
Sponsored by the FHSU Food and Hunger Initiative, the Tiger Pantry is a nonprofit that provides fresh and shelf-stable options to students, staff, and faculty struggling with food insecurity. If potential-volunteers are on the fence about participation, consider spending a warm spring afternoon gardening to serve your community in a direct, tangible way.
For more information on the pantry contact Bob Duffy (rduffy@fhsu.edu) or Peter Tramel (phtramel@fhsu.edu). For more information on the Big Event, contact Brenna Schwien (bhschwien.se@fhsu.edu), Public Relations Director for FHSU’s Student Government Association.