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The Rack radio spot - November 17, 2025
Transcript
Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. Demand is up at the Rack, the university's food pantry.
Sydney Vega: We're already close to the number of students we served the entire year last year.
Shauna Johnson: Sydney Vega, a program assistant for student engagement and leadership oversees the Rack, which provides non-perishable and perishable food items to all WVU students needing assistance. In addition to the main site at Morgan House on the downtown area of campus, smaller Snack Rack locations are available at four sites now on the Evansdale area of campus.
Sydney Vega: Right now, we need a little bit of everything, honestly. Pasta's and rice are really popular. They make for great quick meals, pasta sauce to go with those. Microwave meals, anything that you can make in a dorm especially is something we request a lot of just because a lot of our students are coming from the different residence halls on campus. So we want to make sure that they can make the food in their micro-fridge and they're not relying heavily on dining plans if they're running low on their meal swipes or dining dollars.
Shauna Johnson: Students with specific food needs also look to the Rack.
Sydney Vega: We get a lot of requests for dietary restrictive type of foods like vegan, vegetarian, and dairy free, low sugar, low salt, things of that nature. So we like to try to keep it as healthy as we can and provide for those who eat certain diets.
Shauna Johnson: Donations are accepted during regular operating hours at the Morgan House location. Other ways to give are available by searching for WVU Rack online.
Sydney Vega: Our website also has a Amazon wishlist link where you can have stuff delivered directly to the Rack from that wishlist, or you can go to give.wvu.edu and provide a monetary donation to the student food pantry fund.
Shauna Johnson: Vega calls the food assistance available through the Rack vital.
Sydney Vega: Everybody needs food. College students absolutely need food. If they're starving, they can't focus in class, their grades drop, they have to withdraw. And we want to keep them enrolled, we want to see them succeed in what they want to do. Getting them the vital nutrients they need and the basic necessity of food is definitely crucial.
Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.
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