Campus and Community Support Replenish NJIT Food Pantry During GivingTuesday
NJIT joined the global generosity movement GivingTuesday and campaigned to fight food insecurity by highlighting the university’s food pantry.
The first $5,000 raised in support of the NJIT food pantry was doubled thanks to a generous match from Mary Ann and Peter A. Cistaro ’68. At the end of the fundraiser, a total of $14,203 was raised.
“We are so grateful for the matching gift provided by Mary Ann and Peter,” said Rebecca Cole Trump, associate vice president for Alumni Engagement and Giving. “Their generosity ensured gifts to the NJIT food pantry on Giving Tuesday had double the impact for hard-working students in need.”
Opened in 2019, the NJIT food pantry is available to all NJIT community members who may have trouble affording or accessing a healthy diet. The food pantry has served several hundred students, including close to 300 in the 2021-2022 academic year alone. This academic year the pantry has already had over 600 visits.
“We want non-perishables and things that will last, so things like pastas and rice, and even soups. Soups go very quickly here through Thanksgiving Break but also over the Winter Break,” said Amber Danku, assistant director for Commuter Life & Operations.
In addition to being a resource for a healthy diet, the food pantry also provides students with donated suit sets that can be used for professional interviews and events.
With word spreading and resources increasing with the food pantry, Danku has seen an uptick in appointments this year. “The food pantry has had a huge uptick in appointments because of the pandemic. So we've had anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 appointments per academic year, and we are already on track to exceed that this year,” she said. “We usually have 200 students coming to the pantry every week sometimes or once in a while, depending on their needs short term or long term.
“This year we have 300-plus students lined up that are using the pantry, so we have a higher need from our students, and a higher need for donations.”
The Community Coming Together
The emphasis on the food pantry is most apparent on GivingTuesday, though many at NJIT have been enthusiastically working to create and participate in projects that bring positive change to the community.
Oya Tukel, dean of NJIT’s Martin Tuchman School of Management (MTSM), is a strong advocate for these services to students. Tukel has worked to secure substantial donations to the pantry, such as a refrigerator donation from Ray Cassetta — MTSM’s advisory board chair — that helped expand the pantry’s inventory.
Another effort through MTSM has been a community supported agriculture (CSA) partnership with a 68-acre farm in Morris County, New Jersey. The CSA summer program offers participants fresh picked, locally grown produce and recipes weekly. Through the CSA, Tukel has fostered a relationship with the farm owner, Margaret Noon, which has yielded over 150 pounds of donated produce to the food pantry.
“It is important for NJIT and the Martin Tuchman School of Management to create and participate in societal impact projects, to drive positive societal change in our community. The CSA is a good example of such initiatives.”
