The RSO food drive for the UWT Pantry has begun

Gather your food and hygiene items and bring them to the Center for Equity and Inclusion to donate to the RSO Pantry food drive.

The Center for Equity and Inclusion has kicked off the annual Registered Student Organization (RSO) food drive to benefit the UWT Pantry, which will run from January 10 to February 10. Donations can be brought to the RSO of your choice, or to the Center for Student Involvement office, located inside the University Y in room 107.

Erin Cousins, Program Support Supervisor in the UWT Office of Equity and Inclusion, says the food drive is a way to bring awareness to the Pantry and the community it serves.

“The most important thing that we’re trying to emphasize is just that everything you give is going back to your fellow students. We are all a campus-wide community and we’re taking care of each other,” Cousins said.

For the food drive, each packaged item donated counts as one point for the donating RSO. Students who are not affiliated with an RSO can still participate by bringing their donations to the Center for Student Involvement for drop-off.

Donations can also be placed in the food drive boxes around campus, or taken directly to the Pantry, however, donations dropped off at the locations will not count toward points for the drive.

Each qualifying, pre-packaged item will award the donating RSO one point, or the individual student one hundred Dawg Bones. As an added incentive, some items are worth higher points. For items that are on the Pantry’s student request list, two points will be awarded for RSOs, or two hundred Dawg Bones to the student. 

Vegan, kosher or halal items are worth three points each for RSOs, or three hundred Dawg Bones for the student donor. 

The Center for Equity and Inclusion explains the point system on their website as, “A great example of how generous this point structure can be is the concept of a 12-pack box of instant oatmeal.  Because each pack can be provided to a single household, this donation box would earn a participant 12 points for their Registered Student Organization.”

A full list of double and triple point items can be found on the Pantry’s Instagram page (@uwtcei_pantry).

The Pantry also has a list of highly requested items that students have asked for. Some of these items include spam, oil, gravy mix, noodles of all kinds, protein bars and gluten-free items.  

Because the Pantry has a refrigerator and a freezer, they are able to accept both perishable and non-perishable items. Items must not be damaged, expired, opened, home-made or homegrown. The Pantry also accepts household and hygiene items such as laundry soap, diapers in all sizes, toothpaste, menstrual products and other essential items.

During Winter Quarter 2023, the Pantry is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday. To shop, students will need to bring their student ID card with their student number. A brief questionnaire will be filled out for new and returning students before shopping.  Students are able to take up to twenty items per week. 

Though the Pantry accepts donations year round, Cousins says “The food drive is just a way to remind people that we are here and we want to give back to our students.”

The Pantry is sustained by donations from the UWT community and the greater Tacoma Community. The Pantry is located in the Dougan building at DOU 104. 

For a full list of student requested items and the Pantry’s Amazon wish list, or visit the Pantry’s webpage at https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/equity-center/how-support-pantry . 

If you are in need of alternative shopping hours, Pantry assistance or have other questions, you can email the pantry at Pantry@uw.edu.

For questions about the RSO Food Drive, email the Center for Equity and Inclusion at uwtcei@uw.edu