SHOP (Students Helping Our Peers), the campus food pantry that serves students living with food insecurity, has an exciting new weekly donation from the Department of Animal Science – eggs.
The SHOP team has been picking up eggs once a week from the Robert T. Hamilton Poultry Teaching and Research Facility at Iowa State University. The eggs have been packaged in half-dozen carton sizes at SHOP with 390 cartons distributed in just the past 5 weeks.
“These eggs come from our teaching hens that students are able to interact with for hands-on learning opportunities,” said Jessica Seward, Hamilton poultry farm manager. “We have officially donated 2,340 eggs as of March 23, 2023.” While the majority of the eggs produced at this facility are sold for commercial use, the teaching hens provide a unique opportunity to give back and donate their eggs.
According to ISU Student Wellness, an estimated 31% of Iowa State students are food insecure. SHOP has seen high demand for the eggs in the food pantry and are looking forward to continuing to grow this partnership to provide nutrient dense foods, such as eggs, to Iowa State students.
Other groups on campus have also worked with SHOP to provide high-quality protein to the food pantry. Read more about the Block and Bridle Club working along with Cactus Cares and the Iowa State Meats Lab to partner with SHOP: https://www.inside.iastate.edu/article/2023/02/09/shop
If you are interested in helping food insecure students on campus, click the link below to donate and Cactus Cares will match up to $5,000 annually. https://fundisu.foundation.iastate.edu/project/25882