On Wednesday night while local neighborhood kids traveled door-to-door in search of Halloween treats, Fresno State student organizations did the same, but for canned food items for the Bulldog Pantry.
This is the third year that the Bulldog Pantry has coordinated and worked with student organizations to put on “Trick-or-Treating” for canned foods.
With the help of volunteers and student organizations the Bulldog Pantry brings in more than 1,000 cans each year during the Halloween drive. Esmit Gamboa, Bulldog Pantry student coordinator, hoped that with outside help from student organizations this year would be just as successful.
Though this year’s drive did not quite exceed that of previous years, the students were still able to bring in about 1,000 cans for the Bulldog Pantry.
“It is great, I think this is an activity that takes a lot of time and effort and it is great that people are willing help, especially groups like ASI,” Gamboa said.
Student organizations like Associated Students, Inc. participated this year by getting several other clubs and organizations on campus to help trick or treat.
Ashley Green is an intern of community relations for ASI and is in charge of organizing the event and getting student organizations to participate.
“I think it is important, especially as Fresno State students, to get involved in the community we live in and give back to them so they can see us participating actively,” Green said.
Each group was given a map and assigned to a specific neighborhood. On Sunday they passed out fliers to their assigned houses to notify them that they would be coming around on Halloween to pick up cans. On Halloween night those same groups dressed up in costumes and collected cans to bring back to the Bulldog Pantry.
The Bulldog Pantry is a student-run food bank that gives out groceries every Saturday morning to the surrounding community. With the holidays around the corner, the pantry wants to make sure they have enough to give out. The more they collect from outside sources, the less they have to purchase from the food bank.
“It means a lot because coming down toward the end of the semester, we run low on funds, and so events like these help us out a lot,” Gamboa said.
The Bulldog Pantry will also put on several more events before the semester ends. It plans on hosting “Caroling for Cans” where volunteers will go to each department on campus and sing in exchange for canned food items and will also collect gloves to pass out to children for the cold wintery months.
“It is kind of a little tradition and it is fun, and it helps us gather a lot of food for the community,” Gamboa said.
If you are interested in donating or would like to volunteer for future events, contact the Bulldog Pantry at [email protected] or 559-224-9052.