TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Florida State University received a $1 million donation from Brian and Kathryn Ballard to expand the Food for Thought Pantry; the pantry works to reduce food insecurity among local students.
- This is the largest one-time donation to FSU Student Affairs in history.
- The Food for Thought pantry has been serving students since 2009.
- Watch the video below to hear about the impact of this donation.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Florida State University is getting a major boost in its effort to support students facing food insecurity.
A $1 million donation will go toward expanding and improving the school’s Food for Thought Pantry.
I’m Justin White, your College Town Neighborhood Reporter, with how the funding will help students now and in the future.
“This is an amazing opportunity to take a program that has been serving thousands of students with kind of a bare bones budget situation and to be able to take those facilities and majorly upgrade them, make them more efficient, focus more on cleanliness, get a beautiful place that looks like the rest of Florida State University. It’s really, really going to expand our capacity to do this meaningful work here,” said Hal Gentile, the Assistant Dean of FSU's Basic Needs Program.
Brian Ballard and his wife, Kathryn, an FSU alumna and Board of Trustees member, donated $1 million to FSU’s Food for Thought Pantry, the largest gift ever to Student Affairs.
With nearly 45% of college students nationwide facing food insecurity, according to a recent American College Health Association survey, the pantry saw almost a 58% increase in students served this past year.
Amy Hecht, the Vice President of Student Affairs at FSU, told me why this program and donation mean so much.
“We’re a family at Florida State. We want to take care of all of our students, and we know you can’t be successful academically if you’re hungry or if you’re worried about where you’re going to get your next meal. And what we try to make sure that all of our students have what they need to be successful,” said Hecht.
And Hal Gentile, the Assistant Dean of Basic Needs Programs at FSU who runs the pantry, left a message for students who may be facing these problems alone.
“We’ve been doing a lot with what we have, but we’re gonna do even more with this generous gift from the Ballard. And if you need support if you’re struggling, if you don’t know how you’re going to pay your bills, if you’ve been making trade-offs between one bill or another, if you’ve been cutting how much food you’re eating, please come seek us out and be part of this wonderful community of support,” said Gentile.
University leaders say the upgrades will allow the pantry to accept more donations and serve a growing number of students in a more welcoming space.
From Florida State University, I'm Justin White, ABC 27
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