Roane State Community College

January 13, 2021

Roane State’s new “Food Pantry On-the-Go” is addressing food insecurity among students during the pandemic. The mobile food pantry’s next event is set for Tuesday, February 2, 2021, at the Knox County Center for Health Sciences in Knoxville. These events are made possible by a grant from the East Tennessee Foundation’s Neighbor to Neighbor Disaster Relief Fund.

The mobile pantry will be set up in the Student Lounge from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. ET. Roane State students from any of the college’s nine campuses will have the opportunity to shop – for free – for a wide variety of non-perishable and microwavable food items.

The first Food Pantry On-the-Go event was held in October 2020 and received positive feedback from participants. These mobile events are the latest effort by the college to help students who may have food insecurity issues that have only increased due to COVID-19.

Even prior to the pandemic, statistics showed that at least 40 percent of college students experienced some form of food insecurity. Roane State has made concerted efforts to address that problem, including significant in-house food pantries at the college’s three largest campuses – in Roane County, Cumberland County and Oak Ridge.

Spring 2021 semester courses will begin on Tuesday, January 19. With many students continuing to learn from home, organizers hope mobile events will help make the pantries even more accessible.

Roane State’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences is located at 132 Hayfield Road in Knoxville. Questions about the college’s food pantries can be emailed to raiderpantry@roanestate.edu. Additional details are posted at roanestate.edu/foodpantry.