TAMIU food pantry grows with help from South Texas Food Bank

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) – Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is working with the South Texas Food Bank to help students in need.

The university’s Dusty’s Food Pantry has been supporting students with food since 2017. The partnership started in Fall 2023 and helps the pantry serve more students.

Since then, Dusty’s Food Pantry has helped over 1,000 households with over 1,200 visits. In the past year, the pantry has bought over 13,000 pounds of food to keep up with the demand.

Melissa Olivarez, a program specialist at TAMIU, said the partnership has made it easier to provide a wider range of food for students.

With extra funding, the pantry was able to buy refrigerators and freezers to store fresh food.

Through this partnership, the pantry gets food at lower costs and sometimes for free. This helps serve more students while keeping expenses down.

Angie Osterman from the South Texas Food Bank said making sure students have enough food can help them do better in school.

The pantry is available to TAMIU students, and more details can be found here. Donations can be made here.

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