Lowes of Lumberton donates Refrigerator to RCC Food Pantry
When the pandemic hit, it not only shut down businesses and organizations, but also caused the food pantry at Robeson Community College to shut down temporarily as well.
“We rely on donations, and with the pandemic and with a limited number of people on campus, we decided to give all the food we had away during a food distribution,” said Dr. Phoebe Chavis-Harris, director of education programs at Robeson Community College. “We did not want the food to just sit here and go bad.”
The pantry reopened last fall, being fully restocked thanks to monetary donations from faculty, staff, and community members, which afforded RCC the opportunity to purchase items from the 2nd Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina.
“The Food Bank mentioned that we could purchase items like yogurt, but we did not have a refrigerator,” said Harris. “So, we had to pass up on those items.”
Harris mentioned it to her team when she got back to the office, she knew that a refrigerator would greatly help in assisting students in need.
“Our student worker said she had a contact at Lowes and so she reached out to him,” said Harris. “They told us to send a letter stating our needs, which I sent one in right away.”
After about a month and a half of waiting, Harris received the call she had been waiting for.
“I was so excited, Lowes called and said that they had a refrigerator but that we would have to go over and get it today,” said Harris. “Thankfully our maintenance staff was able to go over and get the refrigerator while we consolidated our space to make room for it.”
“I’m just tickled pink about the donation from Lowes, we are really excited, we had never been able to offer cold items before,” said Harris. “I’m so thankful for Lowes, this donation will help so many of our students, and we are just so fortunate to have this available.”
The food pantry started years ago after Debbie Lowry, who was an instructor at RCC, witnessed one of her students digging through the trash to find food. Lowry later found out that the student was homeless.
Lowry, determined to make a difference, went to administrators to see if she could have an empty space close to her office to establish the pantry.
Lowry has since passed away, but her legacy continues to live on.
“We wanted to keep the pantry going and continue with it,” said Harris. “It was important to her; she didn’t want to see any more students going hungry.”
“It is run completely by donations, and we have been really blessed with donations from our faculty, staff, and community to be able to keep the pantry up and running.”
Harris says that foot traffic to the pantry has picked up since it was replenished, stating that she sees about 3-5 students visiting weekly.
“We take so much for granted,” said Harris. “Sometimes we just don’t know what others are going through, so being able to provide students with nutritious food is what it is all about.”
The food pantry is located in Building 8, Room 804.
“If the door is locked, please come by my office and we will let you in… It’s open. It’s available. It’s here.”
