Community Engagement Blog

How we do community engagement at Missouri State

Athletics Makes an Impact for Bear Pantry Community

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On October 3rd, student athletes scored a big win in a meaningful way.

Families, fans, and students gathered on Missouri State’s turf to cheer on four athletic home events including swimming & diving, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, and men’s soccer. At the same time, Beth Perine and the acrobatics & tumbling team welcomed donations for the Bear Pantry.

“I wanted to help expand awareness of the Bear Pantry and how it helps the students, faculty, and staff.” Beth Perine, former softball coach and current athlete academic advisor, notes. She also wanted to provide her student-athletes with an opportunity to make an impact in the community.

A collaborative effort, athletic teams and the athletic department shared the message on social media to market the drive.

900+ shelf-stable items were donated to the Bear Pantry.

When Sydney Wilson, the Director of Student-Athlete Development, heard about the event, she jumped at the opportunity to get the Bears Leadership Institute, an athletic leadership development program, involved as well.

The following Monday during their regular meeting times, 17 student-athletes and facilitators filled the Pantry with laughter and hard work to process the donations from the drive. “We have strong athletes. We hauled everything over to the [Bear Pantry] and put people to work…getting athletes involved and giving back,” said Sydney.

Bears Leadership athletes pose with food

“The Bears Leadership event helped our Bear Pantry team a lot following such a big donation drive. It’s a process to haul, sort, inventory, and stock the shelves with so many items. We appreciated their help,” said Natalie Barbieri, Graduate Assistant for the Bear Pantry.

“We have strong athletes. We hauled everything over to the Bear Pantry and put people to work…Getting athletes involved and giving back”

“My favorite part of the event was taking inventory… it was awesome to see the pantry go from just a few items on the shelves to being fully stocked. It was super fun to work with my teammates and the athletic leadership team to refill the pantry,” Evie Kolb, a junior on the swimming & diving team.

Looking back at the event, Beth loved seeing the interaction between the student athletes and the people donating. People were grateful for the opportunity to donate, and the student-athletes expressed gratitude for their donations in return.

People were grateful for the opportunity to donate, and the student-athletes expressed gratitude for their donations in return.

Some people came up to Beth and mentioned how they remember their college years and being hungry sometimes. “There was a lot of ramen going on”, they said. They were happy to help diminish that experience for students.

Highlights

  • Beth Perine hosted a food drive for the Bear Pantry during several home athletic events on October 3rd.
  • Over 900 items were donated to the Bear Pantry.
  • Following the food drive, athletes and faculty from the Bears Leadership Institute processed and stocked donated items in the Bear Pantry.

Support the Bears at MSU’s upcoming sports events!

Visit the Bear Pantry!

Take Action – September is Hunger Action Month

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September is here—which means pumpkin spice lattes are officially back at Starbucks, but so is Hunger Action Month! 

Hunger Action Month, now in its 18th year, is a national campaign created by Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief network. Its mission is simple yet powerful: to elevate voices, raise awareness, and drive change to end hunger in America. 

Right here in Springfield, food insecurity affects nearly 17% of our community, according to Feeding America’s 2023 Map the Meal Gap study. Food insecurity happens when individuals don’t have the resources to access enough nutritious food—and hunger is the direct and devastating result. 

Thankfully, several local programs are making a difference both on campus and throughout Springfield: 

  • Ozarks Food Harvest – Springfield’s largest food bank and the Bear Pantry’s main supplier.  
  • Crosslines – The area’s largest food pantry, serving nearly 70,000 people each year. 
  • Victory Mission – A faith-based organization providing emergency relief, long-term services, and more than 120 meals a day. 
  • Salvation Army – Offers emergency relief and daily meals through the Front Line Feeding Program at Harbor House. 
  • Well of Life – Located near campus, this pantry distributes food to the community twice a week. 

How YOU Can Take Action This Month 

Hunger Action Month is the perfect time to get involved. Here are a few simple but meaningful ways: 

  • Advocate for change. Use your voice to shine a light on food insecurity. 
  • Volunteer. Your time and service can make a lasting impact. 
  • Host a donation drive. Choose a local organization to support and rally your community to contribute. 

Upcoming Events 

Stay tuned—don’t miss these important opportunities to take action and see what’s coming up on campus! 

  • Family Weekend: September 19th-21st  
    • Missouri State is hosting a food drive to support the Bear Pantry. To contribute, bring items to any of the several donation bins across campus. Map is shown below. 

  • Bear Pantry Food Drive in Hammons Student Center: October 3rd 
    • This food drive, hosted by former softball coach and current academic advisor Beth Perine, is accepting donations as fans gather at the Hammon’s Student Center and the Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium to watch MSU volleyball, swim, and soccer events. 
  • “Trick-or-Soup” Halloween Food Drive: October 31st  
    • Missouri State’s Mu Phi Epsilon and Student Dietetic Association are teaming up this Halloween for a food drive with a twist—trick-or-treating for canned goods instead of candy. Mu Phi Epsilon has supported the Bear Pantry with this tradition since 2008, and this marks SDA’s second year joining the effort. 

Delta Dental Donation Supports Health and Wellness at the Bear Pantry

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The Bear Pantry at Missouri State University is expanding its impact, thanks to a generous in-kind donation from Delta Dental to the MSU Foundation. This thoughtful contribution of oral hygiene products—including dental floss, toothpaste, and toothbrushes—will be distributed through the Bear Pantry to support the health and wellness of our campus community.

CCE Student Specialist, McKennzee Newton, displays donated products.

Access to oral care products is a key component of overall wellness but is often overlooked in conversations about basic needs. By providing these essential hygiene items, Delta Dental is helping the Bear Pantry further its mission of reducing barriers and supporting student success.

“We’re grateful for Delta Dental’s commitment to supporting holistic student wellness,” said Alex Johnson, Director of the Center for Community Engagement. “This donation helps us serve our community more fully and ensures that Bear Pantry guests have access to both nutritious food and critical personal care items.”

The Bear Pantry serves all members of the Missouri State University community, including students, faculty, and staff. Together, with the support of partners like Delta Dental and the MSU Foundation, the Bear Pantry is advancing its mission to meet basic needs and build a stronger, healthier campus community.

For more information on how to donate or get involved with the Bear Pantry, visit https://www.missouristate.edu/CCE/bear-pantry.htm.

 

Sustainability Efforts at Bear Pantry

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Happy April, Bears!

April 22nd is Earth Day, a day recognized for environmental protection efforts, so it is only appropriate to discuss sustainability efforts employed at the Bear Pantry!

Bear Pantry’s Sustainability Practices

  • Reusable Bags
    • Instead of having single use, plastic bags available for Bear Pantry members to use after shopping, we encourage everyone to bring a reusable bag. New members receive an MSU maroon reusable bag upon completion of the membership form!
    • Reusable bag tips:
      • Always keep one with you. Accessibility will encourage use. Whether in your car or folded up in your backpack, having a reusable bag with you is a great practice.
      • Find a heavy-duty brand you like. Durability of bags is important! If the bags are durable, you are more likely to use them. Some stores only provide shoppers with reuseable bags at checkout. Other stores offer a discount for bringing in reusable bags instead of using their single-use bags. A one-time purchase of a reusable bag can save money in the long run!
      • Keep them clean! When handling food products, it is necessary to ensure the bags are clean. For cloth bags, a quick run through the washing maching is enough. For sturdy plastic, a wet paper towel or disinfectant wipe might be all you need.
      • Educate others! Further sustainability efforts by encouraging friends and family to adopt this habit. You could even give them a reusable bag or two.
  • Supporting Local Farms (Community Supported Agriculture)
    • Campus Garden and Amanda Belle’s Farm are both community partners with the Bear Pantry. By supporting local farms through distribution of their product, we are ensuring that we foster community connections and provide students with fresh, seasonal produce.
    • Community Supported Agriculture (or CSA) is where community members pay weekly, monthly, or seasonally for a “share” within a farming operation. This gives farmers the capital to pay for supplies and grow crops, giving the consumer fresh, seasonal, and local produce throughout the growing season.
  • Composting Waste
    • What is composting? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), composting is “the managed, aerobic (oxygen-required) biological decomposition of organic materials by microorganisms.” Food scraps and yard waste are excellent compost materials. Compost can be added to soil to increase nutrient composition and overall soil health. More information about composting here. At the Bear Pantry, any fresh food products that we recive that are not appropriate for distribution (fruits and vegetables that are decomposing, bread that is moldy, etc.) are composted via a designated compost site.
  • Recycling
    • What is recycling? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products.” More information about recycling here. Yard waste, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, tin, and so forth, can all by recycled. Here at the Bear Pantry, we focus on recycling cardboard (since most of our food products come packaged in cardboard boxes) after each delivery.
  • Nutrition Education and Recipes
    • What does nutrition education and recipes have to do with sustainability efforts? A lot! If members are not able to use the food they receive from the pantry, then that is contributing to food waste (which is not sustainable, especially if this food is going into the landfill and not the compost bin). Utilizing resources (such as Nutrition Corner) provided by the Bear Pantry can help decrease food waste. Nutrition Corner focuses on providing members with easy access to recipes tailored to foods provided in the pantry. There are also nutrition education handouts on how to make canned and packaged foods more healthful through adding sources of protein, decreasing sodium intake, and so forth. These recipes are created by MSU nutrition and dietetics students, studying to be Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
    • Link to Nutrition Corner

 

Don’t forget to follow us on socials!

Instagram: @mostatebearpantry & @mostatecce

Like us on Facebook: Bear Pantry

YouTube: @mostatebearpantry

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/bearpantrymostate

 

Community Partners

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Hello everyone and happy March!

The spring semester is going quickly—almost halfway through! In this month’s blog post, we are going to learn about community partners. Bear Pantry benefits from donors and our community partners, including Ozarks Food Harvest, Amanda Belle’s Farm, and the MSU Campus Garden. Let’s take a look at these important organizations and the work they do!

Ozarks Food Harvest

Ozarks Food Harvest (OFH) is a food bank located in Southwest Missouri, serving 270 hunger relief agencies in 28 surrounding counties1. Currently, there are many programs offered through OFH, including2:

  • Weekend Backpack Program
  • After-School Food
  • Summer Food
  • Senior Food Boxes
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP)
  • Full Circle Gardens

We are supported by OFH through:

  • Weekly deliveries or pick-ups (this is our main source of food)
  • Purchased and donated product (product in orders is split between purchased and donated product, which is the reason our product is ever changing)
  • Impact ($1.93 = 1 pound of food, so our money goes further spending donor dollars at OFH)

Food Bank vs. Food Pantry

What is the difference between a food bank and a food pantry? A food bank has a large supply of food (similar to a bank having a large supply of money). A food pantry distributes portions of that food (similar to getting a withdrawal of money from your bank account and spending that). Ozarks Food Harvest is a food bank and the Bear Pantry is a food pantry!

Springfield Community Gardens

Springfield Community Gardens is a non-profit that has 16 community gardens, 3 urban farms, a community food forest, and test kitchen within the Springfield area3. Amanda Belle’s Farm and the Missouri State University Campus Garden are both part of Springfield Community Gardens.

Amanda Belle’s Farm

In collaboration with Cox Health, Amanda Belle’s Farm sits on a plot of land just between Cox South and Kickapoo High School. The main program offered through Amanda Belle’s is their CSA (or Community Supported Agriculture) boxes. These are available for purchase by Cox Health employees for weekly pickup during the growing season. Community Supported Agriculture is “a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or inspirit, the community’s farm; with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production” according to the United State Department of Agriculture (or USDA).4

So, how does the CSA program benefit Bear Pantry? Well, each week, all boxes that have not been claimed by the end of the pick-up window by Cox Health employees are available for Bear Pantry. The amount and type of produce varies weekly and the product from the boxes supplies our Friday “Produce Pop-Ups”. 

Missouri State University Campus Garden

Last, but certainly not least, the MSU Campus Garden is a great supporter of the Bear Pantry, providing fresh produce during the growing season. Campus Garden is supported by the Sustainability Commission through Student Government Association (SGA). It is located just across Grand Street from the main campus (street address is on Normal Street). The garden welcomes volunteers for harvesting during the growing season. More information here: get involved with campus garden!  

Those are a few of our community partners. Donors, along with community partners, are a large reason we are able to serve the campus community. We value all supporters of the Bear Pantry! 

 

Don’t forget to follow us on social media!  

  • Instagram: @mostatebearpantry & @mostatecce  
  • TikTok: @bearpantry  
  • Like us on Facebook: Bear Pantry   
  • YouTube: @mostatebearpantry   
  • LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/bearpantrymsu   

 

Resources: 

  1. Ozarks Food Harvest. (n.d.). About us. Ozarks Food Harvest. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://ozarksfoodharvest.org/about/.  
  2. Ozarks Food Harvest. (n.d.). Member agencies. Ozarks Food harvest. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://ozarksfoodharvest.org/about/our-network/member-agencies/.  
  3. Springfield Community Gardens. (n.d.). Our local community gardens. Springfield Community Gardens. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.springfieldcommunitygardens.org/gardens. 
  4. U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Community supported agriculture. National Agricultural Library. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-agricultural-production-systems/community-supported-agriculture.
  5. Missouri State University. (n.d.). Campus garden. Missouri State University. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.missouristate.edu/Sustainability/campus-garden.htm.