SNAC giving trees help the USU community give back to Students
While on campus during the holiday season, students can see Christmas trees throughout different buildings. Four of these trees belong to the Student Nutrition Access Center, or SNAC’s.
SNAC is Logan campus’ no-questions-asked food pantry. The pantry has free groceries for all students to shop as needed. The only requirement is to be a student.
Open four days a week, students can come once a week, swipe their ID and pick out food.
Located on the second floor of Old Main, the Nutrition and Food Sciences Building lobby, the Stan L. Albrecht Agricultural Sciences Building lobby and right outside SNAC in the TSC, have been decorated with QR codes attached to their ornaments instead of traditional decor.
Students, staff and any passerby can scan the QR code and follow the provided instructions. This will walk students through the steps of helping to purchase food items for students in need. The link also asks for a name but allows for donations to be anonymous or donated in someone else’s name.
“SNAC relies pretty much solely on donations. We don’t get money from student fees. So we’re hoping that these giving trees will give us some of the funding that we need to expand our services and keep doing what we’re doing,” said Janna Cook, SNAC student co-director.
There are three ways to donate to SNAC. The first is through SNAC’s Amazon wishlist, the second is donations done via the university’s website and the third is for faculty, who can sign up for payroll deductions and have a certain amount of their payroll be donated to SNAC.
Aside from donations, SNAC’s main suppliers are the Marketplace and the Junction on campus, as well as the Cache Community Food Pantry. SNAC representatives get stock from the food pantry once a week, and they visit the on-campus eateries at the end of every day.
The idea of doing the giving trees was a collaboration between nutrition, dietetics and food sciences business manager Liz Vaterlaus and department head Heidi Wengreen. They then reached out to different departments on campus to house the trees so they reach a wide range of students.
“With this being its first year, we’re still trying to get the word out to the community, into the faculty because that’s kind of our main audience,” said Shayla Adams, SNAC student co-director. “But I think it’s a great thing and it’s going to continue to help.”
The trees will be up until the beginning of spring semester. After they are taken down, students can still donate or volunteer at SNAC during the academic year. SNAC takes volunteers five days a week to help with picking up and dropping off supplies. Students who are less physically able to do manual labor can also volunteer to help and answer questions during their open hours.
Students can follow SNAC on Instagram under the username @ususnac. The account often highlights volunteers, posts new products and updates their hours.