Thank you for donating so much food to the “Pack the Pantry for Pride” food drive!

The Hawks Nest always needs and appreciates donations

From April 7-25, SAFE@HFC sponsored a “Pack the Pantry for Pride” food drive as part of the College’s Campus Pride Month events.

Five HFC departments formed teams to stock the Hawks’ Nest, HFC’s free food and personal items pantry available to any registered HFC student. Of the five teams, the Counseling Department donated the most non-perishable food items and won a pizza party sponsored by the Vice President of Student Affairs.

The real winners are the students who rely on the Hawks’ Nest. All HFC students may use the food pantry, which is in the L (ASCC) building. Donations during this food drive totaled 540 pounds.

“I wanted to make sure that at least one event during Campus Pride Month had a big impact that would involve other faculty and staff on campus,” said SAFE@HFC chair Dr. Laura Willman. “I also know that many of our students face food insecurity and learned from Kayla Collins, who oversees the Hawks’ Nest, that there's been an increase in the number of students who are using Hawks’ Nest. A food drive seemed like a great solution that would not only get the campus community involved but would also have an immediate impact on our students.”

Your ongoing donations help students meet a basic human need

The Hawks Nest is in Room L-138 on the first floor of the Andrew A. Mazzara Administrative Services & Conference Center (ASCC) (Building L on the main campus). The only way the Hawks Nest can serve students is by relying on generous donations from our campus and local community, and our volunteers who staff and organize the pantry.

The Hawks’ Nest accepts non-perishable food items only. All items must be unexpired, and unopened. Food items should be at least two months prior to their published expiration date. Please do not donate expired food items, as they have to be discarded, which creates extra work for our all-volunteer team. Please check the published expiration dates carefully before you donate.

Please consider donating the following items:

When you purchase items to donate, please consider choosing some lower-sugar and lower-salt options when practical

• Boxed meals (Hamburger Helper, scalloped potatoes)
• Microwavable shelf meals (Compleats, instant noodles, rice meal packets)
• Personal hygiene products (men’s and women’s deodorant in particular)
• Canned and dry beans (lentils, chickpeas, pinto beans, baked beans)
• Fruit, either canned or cups (mixed fruit, applesauce, mandarin oranges).
• Cereal (all kinds)
• Canned tomato products (diced tomatoes, tomato sauce)
• Pasta sauces (meat and vegetarian options)
• Breakfast bars (fruit and grain, chewy bars, granola bars)
• Canned meats (tuna, chicken, Vienna sausages)
• Canned soups and pasta (SpaghettiOs, ravioli, various soups including vegetarian, chili)
• Rice and grains (dry bags or quick prep boxes, microwave packets)
• Snack items (cracker sandwiches, goldfish crackers, dried fruits)
• Peanut butter and jelly (all flavors)
• Oatmeal (we recommend quick-cooking oats)
• Canned vegetables (mixed veggies, corn, peas, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes)
• Pasta noodles
• Meal prep items (broths, condiments, muffin mixes, seasonings)

NOTE: The Hawks’ Nest does not need green beans at this time.

Can't donate food? Please consider a monetary donation

Hunger can be a daily issue for some of our students. To help these students, we greatly appreciate your tax-deductible donations, which allow us to keep our supplies replenished year-round.

You can make a donation at the link above through the HFC Foundation. Make sure to select “The HAWKS Nest Food Pantry” under the “Apply gift to” section.

Alternately, you can bring your cash, check, or money order donation to the Office of Student Activities (Room M-105) in the John McDonald Student and Culinary Arts Center (Building M on the main campus) and receive a receipt. Please make your check or money order payable to the "HFC Foundation."

“I'm really proud of how many donations we were able to collect. It was nice to interact with each of the teams and work toward a common cause,” said Willman. “I think the teams who donated had fun collecting items and enjoyed a bit of friendly competition. I want to keep organizing these kinds of events in the future and make sure that our students know SAFE@HFC is here for them!”

For questions or more information about SAFE@HFC, contact safe@hfcc.edu. For questions or more information about the Hawks’ Nest, contact 313-317-6529 or hawksnest@hawkmail.hfcc.edu.