The University of North Texas in Denton will feed hundreds of students this Thanksgiving who can’t travel home because of COVID-19 concerns.
“We know students in college, in particular at the University of North Texas, some do experience food insecurity, while they’re working on their degrees,” said Maureen McGuinness, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs.
McGuinness said the idea started with a student survey.
“We had 417 students sign up, which they got to select how many people they were going to feed, whether it was two or four. And we have projected that it will feed about 1,100 people,” she said.
The UNT food pantry packed Thanksgiving meal packages that will include turkey, ham and other holiday favorites.
Many parents have encouraged their students to stay at school for the holidays because it’s safer than traveling home to other states or countries.
“We’ve seen a number of students significantly impacted by not being able to go home, or not being able to afford a meal, and so being able to support our students through this time is really important to us,” McGuinness said.
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Students will be able to pick up the meals curbside Monday through Wednesday -- just in time for Thanksgiving.
UNT said it decided to feed students this Thanksgiving for the first time because the need was greater this year because of COVID-19.
The university is planning another event like this for winter break.
