Help Feed the Pack Go Mobile This Day of Giving
Supporters have the chance to help NC State’s rapidly expanding Pack Essentials program continue to move forward on this Day of Giving.
Steve ‘79 and Gladys Deaton, longtime supporters of Pack Essentials and the Feed the Pack Food Pantry, will partner with an anonymous couple to give $50,000 when the Student Emergency, Feed the Pack and Pack Essentials funds reach 850 total cumulative gifts on Day of Giving (March 20). These gifts will help ensure the programs can continue to meet students’ basic needs and combat food and housing insecurity at NC State.
“Steve and Gladys have not only been generous donors to Pack Essentials, but they have been incredible partners with the university in different ways,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor and Student Ombud Mike Giancola. “Specifically with Pack Essentials, what I’ve appreciated is Steve’s involvement in helping us think through how we deliver services to students. Gladys also plays an active role in the program’s success by volunteering at the pantry. The financial support has been critical, but having partners in the work has been important as well.”
They have been incredible partners with the university in different ways.
This year’s donation will be immediately earmarked for a specific purpose: purchasing a van to pick up food donations for the pantry, among other things. This investment was especially meaningful to the anonymous donors, who were eager to support the infrastructure and grow the program’s capacity.
Giancola explained that the number of pantry patrons over the past six months is the highest it has been since Feed the Pack’s inception in 2012. The pantry is now making pickups from Food Lion three days a week and from the Central and Eastern North Carolina Food Bank, Interfaith Food Shuttle, and Bread for Life.
“Having our own transportation allows us to work with the different community partners and agencies that supply vital food for the pantry,” Giancola said. “So that’s very important for us to be able to meet the growing needs.”
For Steve and Gladys, combatting food and housing insecurity continues to be a near and dear cause.
Steve explained that many people are unaware of the extent of those issues on campuses like NC State, and continued support is needed to meet students’ needs.
“My dad always taught me that one way a man is measured is by the way he treats somebody with less,” Steve Deaton said. “NC State is a great place with many, many great accomplishments, but I think it’s important that we all do our part to make sure NC State is also measured by how we treat our students with less.”
My dad always taught me that one way a man is measured is by the way he treats somebody with less.
Over the past year, the Deatons, who have been supporting Feed the Pack and Pack Essentials since 2017, have seen the program grow, including the grand opening of the new Pack Essentials Hub in North Hall in the fall of 2023 and the addition of permanent staff.
The purchase of a van, made possible by the anonymous donors and the Deatons, will only help the program continue to grow and meet these critical needs for students.
“The more people that we can get involved with this so that we can continue to raise awareness, the better off we all are,” Steve Deaton said.
Use this link to support the Feed the Pack challenge and Pack Essentials on Day of giving, and visit the Day of Giving website to learn more about how you can help other student support areas in the Division of Academic and Student Affairs.
