SALISBURY – Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has begun a mobile food pantry to assist students in need.

The initiative comes thanks to a grant from Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, which provided $750 to support the food pantry, said Misty Moler, adviser to the RCCC Wellness Center.

Through the mobile pantry initiative, students will be provided personal care items and multiple food options.

“Protein is very important. We aim to provide meals that will go a long way. If a student is the primary care provider, a pasta and sauce meal may serve as a help. Students are also offered grab-and-go items,” Moler said.

Through the pantry, students have access to toiletries, shampoo, soap and a range of other necessities, Moler said.

“The grant will allow them to make pantry items more available to students in various locations throughout campus,” Moler said. “We want to provide community service, and we recognize that we’re now able to do so by providing this to our students. A lot of this was initiated by internal employees.”

Moler said it was a collaborative effort with RCCC’s internal and community partners.

“We find that our students are juggling with a lot of things. The more we can do here on campus, the better,” she said. “We’d like to place it in various places on campus and different campuses where the students that are most in need can go. Maybe place it in one building or take it to another. We will have to see how that goes.”

With food pantries available in the Wellness Center of the college’s north and south campuses, the goal is to expand to every location, including the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis and Concord Business and Technology Center.

“This may mean interrupting their path to class or at a bus stop,” Moler said. “The most important thing is putting food into students’ hands.”

Natasha Lipscomb, vice president of student success, said she thinks the initiative will be a great benefit.

Lipscomb said students who use the mobile food pantry can remain anonymous.

“The real unique thing about this mobile pantry initiative is that it has helped build relationships through the stationary pantry and the Wellness Center,” she said.

Moler said students will receive details at a later time through the college’s social media links.

“We will create a plan and push that out through social media, what day and when they can look forward to seeing it,” she said. “We will have to nail down the final details.”