On Friday, March 26, 2021, members of Dairy MAX unveiled Tarleton State University’s new Dairy MAX cooling unit. This donation was made to Tarleton’s Purple Pantry by Dairy MAX in order to bring new dairy options to the students that use the food pantry.
“Nationally, it’s [a] pretty consistent statistic that 30% of students experience some sort of food insecurity or threat of food insecurity, so the Tarleton Purple Pantry helps students get connected to food resources and other sources they may need such as child care, academic supplies and personal care,” Purple Pantry Graduate Assistant, Cameron Ellner said.
The new Dairy MAX cooling unit will help increase the variety that Tarleton’s Purple Pantry is able to provide to the students.
“With Dairy MAX, we are able to provide dairy based products, stretching our assistance even further. We have milk, yogurt, butter, cheese, sour cream and more. Our students are really able to get the benefit of dairy based nutrition,” Assistant Vice President for Division of Student Affairs, Dr. Lora Helvie-Mason said. “We have some exciting times here at the Purple Pantry. We just became a pantry that focused on refrigerated, frozen as well as fresh produce products, so we see a lot of new partnerships unfolding. Dairy MAX has continued to be a great partner, providing not just dairy but also nutritional facts, recipes and information we can share with our pantry users.”
Dairy MAX is a nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting and educating people on dairy consumption.
“Dairy MAX works across a seven state region of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana [and] Louisiana. We represent over 650 dairy farm families. We work on behalf of those families for the milk they work so hard to produce. Opportunities like the Purple Pantry here at Tarleton are great. It’s a great way to stay involved at the local level with an audience such as college students to teach them about the goodness of dairy and the wholesome goodness it provides,” Dairy MAX Business Development member, Wade Howard said.
Donations are a vital part to keeping Tarleton’s Purple Pantry afloat and thanks to Dairy MAX, the pantry can now accept more donations of milk, other dairy products and fresh produce.
“We appreciate all the donors. [The Purple Pantry] is completely run on donations. Donations can be dropped off in person or through the website,” Ellner said. “Dairy MAX is tremendously important [to the Purple Pantry]. They are a huge factor of the Purple Pantry keeping dairy in stock.”
Tarleton students need the Purple Pantry and it’s support especially now due to COVID-19.
“More than ever, our students are feeling the impact of this pandemic, and they need assistance ranging from food, to academic supplies, to hygiene products that help take the edge off when they are trying to focus on their studies. We want to make sure our students can focus on their studies so they can make it across that graduation stage,” Dr. Helvie-Mason said.
If students have any questions about the Purple Pantry, including how to gain access in Stephenville or Fort Worth, they can contact the Purple Pantry at:
www.tarleton.edu/purplepantry or [email protected].