Our Crowdfunding Groups
Hunger and food insecurity on our campus is real. Between 2015-16 and 2016-17, Student Emergency Services & UT Outpost saw a 28% increase in the number of students helped with food-related needs. We know food insecurity makes it hard for students to stay in class and succeed, and our goal is to help students understand and identify food insecurity, as well as making nutritious food readily available to students when they need it.
Your donations to this page will provide meals for students on UT's campus who can't afford to feed themselves. You will also help UT Outpost cover vital operation costs so they can keep their doors open to all students who need them. Students at UT encounter many obstacles, but feeding themselves shouldn't be one. Donate today and help eliminate hunger on UT's campus!
In 2018, UT freshman Elise Randall was struggling to feed herself. There were days when she was so hungry she would miss class because of hunger pains or because she felt sick from eating cheap fast food, the only thing she could afford. Her dining bucks had to cover the cost of necessary items like personal hygiene products, as well as feeding her. She wasn't able to ask her family for money to cover these costs, leaving her without meals at the end of the semester.
Thankfully, an RA told Elise about UT Outpost, UT's on-campus food pantry for students. Elise went to the Outpost and was given all the supplies she needed to make her favorite dish, spaghetti. Back at her dorm kitchen with a full pot of spaghetti made, Elise realized she had a lot of leftover food and no Tupperware. That's when she started texting in group chats, inviting other hungry students to come share her spaghetti.
Nearly every week since then, Elise has cooked spaghetti for her fellow students, either getting supplies from the Outpost or pooling together small donations from other students.
"One thing I've learned from doing the spaghetti dinners is that it's really easy to make a difference in someone else's life. It feels really good to help people, even if you yourself need help. I really love UT Outpost. It's been an amazing resource for me and by using UT Outpost, I've been able to help a lot of other students"
- Elise Randall, sophomore
"It is terrifying to not always have a guaranteed meal. You really start to feel like you're by yourself when you don't have the means to take care of yourself and it's scary. So, having this resource with UT Outpost is amazing because it gives me hope that I can take care of myself, that UT is trying to make sure I feel more security here."
- Andrew Solis, sophomore
Your donation of $25 will provide 8.5 nutritious meals for a UT student experiencing food insecurity.
Your donation of $50 will provide 17 nutritious meals for a UT student experiencing food insecurity.
Your donation of $65 will cover the cost to purchase a reusable donation container to help collect food donations across campus.
Your donation of $100 will provide 34 nutritious meals for UT students experiencing food insecurity.
Your donation of $120 will cover the cost of 1 food pantry staff member to obtain their Food Manager Certification.
Your donation of $300 covers the annual cost of paying for the Food Pantry Management Software!
Your gift of $600 covers the entire cost of the UT Outpost's annual Food Permit, allowing them to provide meals for students across campus!
