The Kellogg Community College Foundation raised $3,248.46 to address food insecurity on campus through the College’s Giving Tuesday initiative Nov. 30, eclipsing its goal of raising $2,000 for the day by more than 62%.
Funds raised will support two specific food insecurity initiatives at the College over the course of the coming year:
- Bruin Baskets, a campus food pantry initiative that provides free grab-and-go snacks for students at a half dozen stations on campuses in Battle Creek and Coldwater
- Fresh Food Distribution, a partnership with the South Michigan Food Bank that provides free fresh produce, baked goods and protein items to community members during a pickup event the last Tuesday of each month on campus in Battle Creek
KCC employees during the week of Nov. 29 also participated in a friendly competition to see which College division could donate the most snacks in support of the Bruin Baskets initiative, ultimately collecting a total of 4,471 prepackaged food items to keep the baskets well stocked for months to come.
“The Food Insecurity Task Force and the KCC Foundation are so grateful to see this wonderful outpouring of support for these programs,” said Alex Carlson, program and events coordinator at the KCC Foundation and chair of the College’s Food Insecurity Task Force. “We are thrilled with how much our employees showed up to support our students, and equally appreciative of those community members that supported us for Giving Tuesday and throughout the year.”
Carlson said that among other uses, the funds raised via the Giving Tuesday initiative will allow the College to add a protein option like ham, chicken legs or fish sticks as part of future Fresh Food Distribution events; the events served more than 500 families in the Battle Creek area this fall alone.
Giving Tuesday is a “global generosity movement” created in 2012 as a way to celebrate generosity and encourage people to give and do good works. The initiative saw record-breaking giving on the national level this year, with an estimated 35 million adults in the U.S. giving $2.7 billion in donations, according to givingtuesday.org.
For more information about Giving Tuesday at KCC or to donate to Giving Tuesday initiatives to address food insecurity on campus, visit kellogg.edu/donate.
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