For some Black River Technical College (BRTC) students, the holiday season brings a hard question: how to afford a Thanksgiving meal on top of tuition, bills, and everything else. Each November, the BRTC Food Pantry helps by providing students in need with a Thanksgiving basket. The basket contains enough food for breakfast, dinner, and a dessert on Thanksgiving Day.
This year, requests are already adding up. Each basket can be sponsored for $50 with the pantry and other donors covering the rest. The basket requests so far represent more than $1,000 in need. Pantry organizers expect the number to rise before Thanksgiving.
“These baskets are important to our students because some of them are not able to work while they are school,” Food Pantry Coordinator Erin Faulkner said. “We at the BRTC Food Pantry would like to lift the load off of our students around the holidays so they can focus on more important things.”
The pantry is accepting donations of any size and every contribution goes toward food for students and families. Because the baskets are sponsored with help from the pantry and other donors, even a small gift goes a long way.
Monetary gifts can be made online through the BRTC Foundation through PayPal or through the donation link at the bottom of the BRTC website. Gifts can also be brought in person to the Institutional Advancement office (AD130) on the Pocahontas campus.
While all non-perishable donations are welcome, the pantry’s greatest need is for Thanksgiving dinner and dessert staples. Donations can be dropped off through the BRTC Foundation at the President’s office or the Institutional Advancement office on the Pocahontas campus, or at the Student Services office on the Paragould campus. Items needed include:
- Frozen turkey or ham
- Dressing
- Mashed potatoes
- Corn
- Green beans
- Rolls
- Gravy
- Pie
Many BRTC students and their families struggle to access adequate food. To help students mitigate this need, BRTC accepts food and monetary donations to stock the food pantry. To use the food pantry, students must complete an application and produce a current BRTC student ID. The food pantry also distributes baby formula, diapers, and personal hygiene items as available. Outside of the holidays, the pantry provides food bags that consist of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days for a family of four.
For more information about the food pantry contact Christina Derbes at (870) 248-4168, or email her at
