Not stocked yet: Barney’s Pantry still looking for donations

Members of the Mt. Hood community have several ways to give back this holiday season.

ASG Director of Community Affairs Jhoselyn Hernandez put together the Holiday Food Drive, and is in charge of coordinating Barney’s Pantry.

For students who may be unaware, Barney’s Pantry is just a room filled with food and toiletries. This room does not store Barney’s treats though – instead, Barney’s Pantry helps out multiple students in need, on a daily basis. “It’s just a room in the corner filled with a lot of food and toiletries,” said Hernandez.

Barney’s Pantry allows students who are in bad financial or living situations to visit the pantry three times a week to obtain food and toiletries. During each visit, students are allowed to take three food items and one toiletry, if needed.

Food and toiletries offered in the pantry can differ vastly. When it comes to food, shelf life is what counts. ASG is looking to stock anything in a box, bag, or container: If it’s sealed, it’s allowed. Toiletries range from soap bars and feminine cleaning products to tooth brushes and deodorant.

Hernandez said pretty much anything that a typical student might use is accepted. “Just donating something warm, like a can of soup, would be really helpful,” she said.

The pantry was put into effect a couple of years ago to “help out and be a resource for students who really need it,” Hernandez said.

This year, Barney’s Pantry is being helped out by the MHCC Bookstore. The Bookstore put cash donation boxes – with an explanation of what the Pantry is – up at its register and its cafe. Before leaving, customers are asked if they would like to donate. If a customer donates at the Bookstore, his or her name is recorded onto a Thanksgiving-themed piece of paper that is hung on ASG’s bulletin board in front of the bookstore. Along with bragging rights, donors will also be entered into a drawing for a free Dakine backpack.

The funds are collected from these donation boxes by ASG and are then used to buy food and toiletries for Barney’s Pantry.

According to Julie Godat, Bookstore manager, since the Pantry started in 2010 the school has received over $3,000 from the cash donation boxes alone.

This holiday season, the Bookstore is creating even more ways to give back to the students. On Dec. 9, the Bookstore will offer a 30 percent discount on all clothing, gifts, and school supplies – textbooks excluded. The Bookstore will even be offering to wrap gift items for customers.

Along with Barney’s Pantry, Hernandez has been overseeing some other ways to help out students during the holidays.

The Holiday Food Drive has been going on for the past couple of weeks and is scheduled to end on Monday. School faculty decided to make it a friendly competition among departments. “I was really impressed with their (staff and faculty) motivation to help with students,” Hernandez said.

On Monday, all of the Food Drive boxes will be collected from each department and counted to see which department is the victor, having collected the most goods. The victor will be given a “mirror-ball trophy” to hold onto until the Food Drive next term.

Hernandez has also put together a Holiday Meal Door Prize to help one lucky student. Interested students are asked to complete a “two-minute” application for a chance to win a Thanksgiving dinner for themselves and their family, Hernandez said. She will then call the winner of the drawing herself to ask what he or she would like for Thanksgiving dinner.

Otherwise, “How am I supposed to know what they like to eat?” Hernandez said with a laugh.