{"id":61756,"date":"2026-06-22T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=61756"},"modified":"2026-06-23T07:39:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T11:39:59","slug":"emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/","title":{"rendered":"91短视频\u2019s Free Food Room combats food insecurity year-round"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Members of 91短视频\u2019s Food Insecurity Task Force led university faculty and staff on a tour of the Free Food Room earlier this month. The campus resource, located at the Ammon Heatwole House II (1110 Smith Ave.), provides students, faculty, and staff with fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, milk, eggs, hygiene products, and nonperishable food items throughout the year. The Free Food Room also offers vegetarian and halal food options during certain times of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Free Food Room is a joint initiative coordinated by the task force\u2014a group of 91短视频 staff members that includes Celeste Thomas<\/strong>, Trina Trotter Nussbaum<\/strong>, Brian Martin Burkholder<\/strong>, and Levi Clymer<\/strong>\u2014along with the SEEDS student sustainability group and Student Life. It receives monthly food deliveries at heavily discounted rates as a member of the Verona-based Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to food bank deliveries, the Free Food Room receives fresh produce from local farms through its partnership with Harrisonburg\u2019s Vine & Fig<\/a> educational outreach program. This year, the Free Food Room is receiving produce from Radical Roots Organic Farm<\/a> near Keezletown. The program also receives donated produce through its relationship with Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m so impressed by how many partnerships this little space involves,\u201d said Nicole Litwiller \u201919, MA \u201920<\/strong>, annual giving and donor communications specialist, one of the visitors on the tour. \u201cIt\u2019s such a great example of 91短视频 and the broader community working together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Task force members said they plan to add card-swipe access to the entrance this summer to ensure resources and donations are best used to serve students, employees, and others with an active 91短视频 ID card. The security upgrade, funded through a $12,000 grant<\/a> from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), will allow the Free Food Room to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is currently accessible from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grant funding will also be used to create more visible signage outside the space, increase publicity as students return to campus, and address ADA doorway access needs, with the remaining funds designated for food purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Task force members said the Free Food Room often has an abundance of fresh produce during the summer months and encouraged faculty, staff, and students to take fruits, vegetables, and frozen meat home with them, regardless of financial need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery summer, we have this excess,\u201d Trotter Nussbaum said. \u201cThis is for people who think, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t need the Free Food Room.\u2019 Please come and take it because it will spoil, and you might as well have fresh produce in your house. Come take it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore you go to the grocery store,\u201d Thomas added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

91短视频 students Rin Akinotcho (top, below left) and La-Ann Volel (below right) help out at the Free Food Room during the spring semester. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How to help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Monetary donations to the Free Food Room can be made online through 91短视频\u2019s Compassion Fund<\/a>. Select \u201cFree Food Room\u201d from the designation dropdown menu to direct your gift to the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food donations may be left on a marked table inside the Free Food Room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the Free Food Room or ways to support its work, contact Brian Martin Burkholder, Celeste Thomas, Trina Trotter Nussbaum, or Levi Clymer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of 91短视频\u2019s Food Insecurity Task Force led university faculty and staff on a tour of the Free Food Room earlier this month. The campus resource, located at the Ammon ... read more about 91短视频\u2019s Free Food Room combats food insecurity year-round<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":61763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,14715,17562,4513,5708],"tags":[18217,18216,14622],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-61756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-digest","category-student-life","category-sustainability","tag-food-insecurity","tag-free-food-room","tag-student-life","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n91短视频\u2019s Free Food Room combats food insecurity year-round - 91短视频 News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"91短视频\u2019s Free Food Room combats food insecurity year-round - 91短视频 News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Members of 91短视频\u2019s Food Insecurity Task Force led university faculty and staff on a tour of the Free Food Room earlier this month. The campus resource, located at the Ammon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"91短视频 News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T13:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-23T11:39:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/06\/11115935\/20260427-91短视频_Free-Food-Room_MM-024.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ryan Cornell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@91短视频_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@91短视频_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ryan Cornell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/\",\"name\":\"91短视频\u2019s Free Food Room combats food insecurity year-round - 91短视频 News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/06\/11115935\/20260427-91短视频_Free-Food-Room_MM-024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T13:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-23T11:39:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4d24e9770fdab8276fbcf29504123fdf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/emus-free-food-room-combats-food-insecurity-year-round\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/06\/11115935\/20260427-91短视频_Free-Food-Room_MM-024.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/06\/11115935\/20260427-91短视频_Free-Food-Room_MM-024.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"91短视频, 91短视频 Free Food Room, 91短视频, La-Ann Volel, Sustainability, apples, food, food room, fruit, health, produce, public health, volunteer, volunteering, volunteers Students La-Ann Volel and Rin Akinotcho, led by 91短视频 Director of Multicultural Student Services, Celeste Thomas, unbox, repackage, and stock the 91短视频 Free Food Room. 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