From high school students to retirees, volunteers for the New Mexico State University Aggie Cupboard put in hours of work each week to show their love and support toward the program and community. Aggie Cupboard is a food assistance program that distributes food to the NMSU community, including students, faculty and staff.
April is National Volunteer Month, and Amanda Nunez, Aggie Cupboard program specialist, acknowledges the consistent generosity her volunteers provide.
“The volunteers themselves are the ones who are really the backbone of Aggie Cupboard,” Nunez said.
Every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m., volunteers help distribute food to individuals who stop by the Aggie Cupboard office. The volunteers also help when Aggie Cupboard hosts Pete’s Pantry in the Park, on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Not only do the volunteers distribute 30 to 50 pounds of food to each of the community members that show up to the park, but they also manage the eight to 11 pallets of food that is delivered monthly.
“Our volunteers come in and help unload the truck and sort out the food,” Nunez said. “They help get our boxes prepared, restock our shelves and communicate with our students.”
Nunez explained that people from various backgrounds volunteer. From high school students, who have only participated for a few months, to others who have volunteered for years. Aggie Cupboard was barely established and being ran out of a dorm room when Susan Smith began volunteering for the program 10 years ago. She said she volunteers because she enjoys connecting with the students and helping those who need it.
“I wasn’t aware of how many kids were really just living on a shoestring,” Smith said. “I like the kids and the university, it’s something to do and you feel like you are actually doing something.”
Smith explained that the work that Nunez does is not easy, so the constant support and generosity from the community and businesses is crucial for the program to strive.
“This isn’t as easy working as you would think,” Smith said. “We have people from different schools or organizations that come in who want to start their own program, but once they go through the process, they realize how much work it is. You have to have someone who is willing not to just come tomorrow but someone who just shows up and continues to.”
Nunez expressed how the volunteers value their role, because they continuously help the cupboard and even go out of their way to publicize the program’s events because they see the importance behind it.
“It is a special group, and they are consistent,” she said. “They don’t see it as a job, but they’re so reliable and come in like it is their scheduled work, but they don’t get paid. They are here without me even having to send emails or notify them, they just love giving back to the students. This program seriously would not be as successful as it is without the volunteers, they’re incredible.”
Aggie Cupboard hosts its next Pete’s Pantry in the Park at Preciado Park at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 23. Participants must bring a bag or box to transport their food, and students must bring their Aggie ID. Visit Aggie Cupboard to learn more about the program or to volunteer.
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CUTLINE: Audra Bryan, New Mexico State University freshman and Aggie Cupboard volunteer, collects food items for a client. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)