A Utah State University professor is encouraging the Aggie community to help fight student hunger by matching his recent donation to the campus food pantry.
Earlier this year, Michael Twohig received the D. Wynne Thorne Career Research Award, one of USU’s highest honors for faculty research. It came with a $7,500 prize, which he donated entirely to the Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC).
Now, he’s inviting others to join him in doubling that amount to $15,000. The funds will support SNAC’s mission to provide free, nutritious food to any student in need — no questions asked. Students can receive pantry staples, fresh produce, and meals from campus and local eateries. SNAC also works to reduce food waste and promote food sustainability.
Twohig said he was impressed at the variety when he visited SNAC.
"They'll have chicken and potatoes, and nice boxes from a catered event that didn't all get eaten," he said. "And that just makes me feel a lot better that all this food that was prepared is not getting put in a dumpster — that it’s getting to someone, you know?”
Kaylie Meccariello, SNAC’s student director, says the donations will help expand allergy-friendly options, keep shelves stocked year-round, and ensure wider access to essentials. She recalls numerous instances of studying all day only to arrive at home and realize that she didn’t have food for a proper meal — and says that lack of food made school so much harder.
“I wish people knew that it was a problem," she said, "that a lot of students are facing food insecurity — and that there's nothing to be ashamed of related to that.”
A survey published last year by USU’s Transforming Communities Institute showed over 60% of students reported low or very low food security, with many saying they had trouble accessing proteins specifically. More than half of the students also said that hunger both sometimes or often made it hard for them to stay focused in class.
“I feel like I didn't realize how many things I was gonna have to worry about when I left home and came up to college," Meccariello said, "and SNAC was a place for me to find help.”
And Twohig adds that every contribution, big or small, can help create a lasting impact for students facing food insecurity.
To learn more or donate, go to https://qanr.usu.edu/ndfs/snac/.
