Aggie Cupboard Needed in Challenging Times

  • Thanks to dedicated Cibola residents who work at the Grants branch of New Mexico State University, students are less likely to go hungry. This project, called the Aggie Cupboard, aims to help students find a meal and other essentials so they can continue their studies without worrying about their food security situation. Faith Mosley - CC
    Thanks to dedicated Cibola residents who work at the Grants branch of New Mexico State University, students are less likely to go hungry. This project, called the Aggie Cupboard, aims to help students find a meal and other essentials so they can continue their studies without worrying about their food security situation. Faith Mosley - CC
  • David Bishop, NMSU-G Mathematics Professor. Faith Mosley - CC
    David Bishop, NMSU-G Mathematics Professor. Faith Mosley - CC

    GRANTS, NM – Strategically located in one of the two studentbuilt homes on the NMSU Grants campus is the Aggie Cupboard, a free food pantry for the entire NMSU Grants community, including students, faculty, and staff. One in eight people go hungry in New Mexico, according to the charity, Feeding America, and that fact wasn’t lost on Mathematics professor, David Bishop, who had been talking with his wife, Suzanne, for years about how they could make an impact. Suzanne took a leap and spearheaded what is now the Aggie Cupboard when she donated $1,000 from a stimulus check to purchase food for the project that until that point had been a dream. According to the organization Students Against Hunger, more than 200 college campuses across this country have established food pantries to help students, staff, and faculty survive as food costs continue to outpace earnings.

    “How can a student concentrate on their studies if they’re worried about where the next meal comes from?” David Bishop posed the question that motivated him, his wife, and Criminal Justice Professor, Megan Stoneking, to create a safe place on campus for folks to not only get food but also toiletries and diapers. “Last December we wrote a grant, and we received $20,000. We bought can dispensers, and we’re building a hoop house so we can grow our own produce.” Gabriel Garcia is an electronics instructor, and he’s the manager of the container farm where they use a shipping container outfitted to grow produce using hydroponics. Garcia will also manage the hoop house.

    The Aggie Cupboard Vision reads: “We envision a campus community free from hunger and fully able to be successful at NMSU Grants. We desire to see students completely able to pursue academic success free from the worry of hunger.” Donation boxes are set up around the campus, and according to Bishop, the District Attorney’s Office as well as Mesa View Elementary School have collected food for the burgeoning pantry. The Aggie Cupboard is open on Wednesdays from 12 pm - 3 pm. Students will need to show a student ID card to receive items, and Adult Ed students must provide a picture ID.