Full Circle Campus Food Pantry Hands out Holiday Meals with Walmart Donation

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Members of the Walmart Consumer Services team and the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry hold Holiday bags that were handed to students, faculty and staff in need this Thanksgiving.

The University of Arkansas Full Circle Campus Food Pantry helped students and staff celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Thanks to university students and Walmart, the food pantry was able to provide the ingredients for a Thanksgiving dinner to 80 families.

Each family received a holiday bag, donated by the Walmart Consumer Services team, containing a Turkey and ingredients for stuffing and green bean casserole, brown gravy mix, a dessert item, sweet potatoes, and corn. The Walmart Consumer Services Team focuses their volunteer time and resources on projects that meet the needs of northwest Arkansas families.

Heather Clark, senior program manager for Walmart, enjoys the partnership with the food pantry and said, “Our team picks certain areas to champion each year as part of our effort to give back and for the past two years we specifically focused on fighting hunger. Working with the Full Circle Food Pantry was a great way for us to make sure families were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with meals they might not otherwise have received.”

Rachel Pellegrino, chair of the food pantry, says the food pantry enjoys partnering with corporate donors, “Without the support and vision of so many Walmart employees, many families would not have had a holiday meal. Partnering with Walmart allowed the pantry to provide holiday meals to over 80 families in addition to the other standard food items students and staff members receive when they visit the pantry.”

As a result of holiday food drives and the annual U of A Homecoming food drive, the pantry received generous donations of their most needed items which include shelf-stable proteins such as canned tuna and chicken, as well as cereal, soup, and pasta. “We have received more than 25,000 pounds of donated items this year,” said Pellegrino. “But we encourage students and others to continue to donate to the pantry throughout the year to allow us to remain well stocked year-round.”

The Full Circle Campus Food Pantry is open Mondays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will follow this schedule during finals week, Dec. 10-14. After finals, the pantry will only be open three days — Monday, Dec. 17, Thursday, Jan. 3, and Monday, Jan. 7, until classes resume on Monday Jan. 14. The pantry is located in Bud Walton Hall between Reynolds Razorback Stadium and the Stadium Drive Parking Garage.

If you would like to volunteer with Full Circle follow the instructions at volunteer.uark.edu, or send an email to pantry@uark.edu.