With the overwhelming toll college takes on students’ time and wallet, one may find it difficult to stretch their budget past books and courses to cover the necessities such as clothing, food or household items. This is where the local organization , The Basic Need, comes to the rescue.

“We just wanted to get the word out to Tarleton because sometimes there’s a point where you have to choose between eating or filling up your car to get to school,” volunteer Melanie Hart said.

The Basic Needs facility is a part of the Church of Christ ministry on Graham Street and currently serves over 2,000 people in Erath County. Every item has been donated and is free to anyone in need once a month.

“We serve an average of 36 families and distribute over 1,000 pounds of food a week,” representative Sandy Steele said. “There are no qualifications financially that need to be met to receive assistance, we only require people to fill out an application based on food need for their household for nine meals or provide a list of items needed at home.”

This program began in 2009 as a small stockpile of items to send to a sister church in Houston, but soon grew to a multi-room distributing center completely managed by volunteers of the community.

“We have had the Tarleton football team and women’s basketball team help unload items provided by the food bank,” Steele said. “We are always accepting volunteers and Tarleton students are welcome to help.”

Service hours for The Basic Need are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekly and on every fourth Thursday of the month from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Donations are accepted within the building or after hours under the covered garage at the Church of Christ parking lot.

“There is quite a bit of manual and physical labor provided to keep this operation going, but we serve in a central location in a community that is more than happy to assist those in need,” volunteer Caroline Green said. “This is a never ending need, but we enjoy working and providing a service to others.”