About Bounty of the Bridgers
The Bounty of the Bridgers Campus Food Pantry serves any student, faculty, or staff member in need on our campus by providing services through one of our three campus food pantry locations, our Food Security Scholarships, and our Grab ‘N Go Snack Program. Our campus pantries provide bread, produce, non-perishable items, and hygiene products that are sourced through sustainable efforts. The Food Security Scholarships award meal plans to students in need of food assistance while on campus. Our Grab ‘N Go Snack Program provides snacks across campus so a hungry student is always near a food source to get them through their next class. As we work to expand our efforts, we hope to provide more culturally diverse foods in our pantries and offer produce more consistently as we know the population that we serve greatly appreciates fresh options.
How will my donation be used?
By supporting the Bounty of the Bridgers, you are giving to programs that combat student hunger and support academic success. While any donation size helps, check out how far your donation goes:
A gift of $25 can feed a household of two for a week.
A gift of $50 can provide produce options in the pantry for a week.
A gift of $200 can provide a semester Food Security Scholarship for one student.
A gift of $500 can fund the campus-wide Grab ‘N Go Snack Program for a month.
Why are donations necessary?
30% of MSU students face food insecurity during their time in school. Bounty of the Bridgers directly serves this population and aims to reduce that number. As we are fully supported by donations and grants, your generosity is necessary in continuing this program and seeing these students graduate. During Fall Semester of 2022, Bounty of the Bridgers had 566 students apply for food scholarships—the highest number ever. Each scholarship requires $200 in funding. The hope for the future is that we have enough resources to be able to help all students in need! In one year, the primary campus pantry will be moving into a new space in MSU’s new Wellness Center. This space will greatly increase both our capacity to serve students and our visibility on campus. A huge accomplishment! With this new visibility, we are anticipating an increase in student use and we’re saving up to purchase food to meet the demand.
How were the gifts from Giving Tuesday 2021 used?
The funds raised from GivingTuesday 2021 were used to:
• Support the hire of a full time staff member to oversee food security efforts at MSU including Bounty of the Bridgers.
• Initiate and sustain the Grab ‘N Go Snack Program which now supplies 14 offices across campus with free snacks throughout the academic year.
• Expand our services to serve more students in more locations, including at Gallatin College East, our community college.
The funds donated from 2021 directly served hundreds of students as well as faculty and staff in need of food assistance at Montana State University. These funds were spent on food and programmatic support to keep these programs going in a time when even more of our community needed assistance.