Penn State Brandywine campus food pantry supports students in need of food assistance
MIDDLETOWN» Food insecurity is a social issue that impacts thousands of local individuals — including college students — and has the potential to stand in the way of students achieving their educational and professional goals. At Penn State Brandywine, students, faculty and staff have taken action to combat student hunger by creating a campus food pantry
The campus food pantry is a collaboration between Brandywine’s Center for Ethics & Civic Engagement and the Office of Student Affairs.
The multifaceted approach includes offering a wider variety of options, including both non-perishable and fresh food choices, as well as personal care items. To stay stocked, the pantry hosts donation drives and places orders through Brandywine’s Housing and Food Services department at lower costs. But it’s not just about what the campus food pantry offers, it’s about how.
Food that students can eat on the spot and items that they can take home and prepare are both available. There is also an online ordering system, which allows students to pick up their orders once they’re fulfilled.
Working to fulfill those orders is sophomore Angel Asomugha of Brookhaven, who manages the ordering process and helps track the pantry’s inventory.
“When I first came to Brandywine, I felt really welcomed,” Asomugha said, “so this was a way for me to give back to the campus community. It feels great to be involved in this initiative, knowing that students have this recourse on campus if they need it. Hopefully, the food pantry will continue to grow over the years.”
Sophomore Nuzhat Tasmim of Upper Darby is also playing a major role at the campus food pantry, working behind the scenes to build a more robust online management system to improve the pantry’s ordering process, inventory database, communications efforts and more.
“I’ve always wanted to give back to my community and the food pantry really gave me that opportunity,” Tasmim said. “Working at the pantry has also given me additional real-world experience — it’s like a building block. I am getting exposed to new things while having support and guidance along the way. I think these types of activities help prepare students for the future.”
Both Asomugha and Tasmim applied for and were awarded grants from the University’s Student Engagement Network for their work with the campus food pantry. Student Engagement Network grants give students a way to fund their engagement experience and further develop the skills needed to reach their career goals.
For more information on Penn State Brandywine, visit www.brandywine.psu.edu.
Delco offers free COVID-19 testing and flu shots this week
Delaware County is offering drive-thru COVID-19 testing and free drive-thru flu vaccinations at the U.S. Army Reserve next week in Upland.
COVID-19 testing will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 30, Tuesday, Dec. 1, Wednesday, Dec. 2, and Friday, Dec. 4, for insured and uninsured individuals, 12 years of age or older who have CO
VID-19 symptoms, were exposed to COVID-19, or are considered critical/essential workers. COVID-19 testing is available for individuals who live or work in Delaware County.
Individuals must preregister at www.chesco.
org/4562/Delco-Testing to receive a test.
COVID-19 test results typically take between 4-7 days. Additional testing information, including details regarding how to obtain faster results and the locations of additional public and private COVID-19 test sites, can be found here: wwww.delcopa.gov/testing.
Those who have health insurance should bring their insurance card to the test site. However, there are no out-of-pocket costs or copays for COVID-19 testing. Masks or face coverings must be worn.
Those who test positive may be called by the Chester County Health Department Disease Investigation team to complete an investigation.
The flu clinic will be held
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3. Flu shots are available to both insured and uninsured indiv iduals, three years of age or older. Unlike COVID-19 testing that requires online preregistration, flu shots do not require an appointment or pre-registration. Note that “high dose” flu shots will not be provided. Masks or face coverings must be worn.
Both the COVID-19 Test Site and Flu Clinic will be held at the U.S. Army Reserve, 500 W. 24th St., Upland.
Residents can call Delaware County’s Department of Intercommunity Health at 610-891-6129 with any questions regarding these health services.
Delco resident launches new site for fandom collectors
Fandom collectors are invited to check out nabnew. com, a new destination for finding the latest listings for favorite pop, sports and geek culture collectibles before they sell out. The business, opened a few months ago by Brookhaven resident Nick Rapagnani Jr. and Michael White, brings over 20 top online stores into one platform.
Every day, the businessmen find all the new fandom listings so customers don’t have to search endlessly for them. Now, thanks to the nabnew.com site, there’s one place to go to find newest toys, figures, comics, graphic novels, vinyl records, dvd’s and blu-rays, board games, and more.
Since Nab has everything in one place, customers can easily find the variants they want, compare prices, find in stock, and nab their favorite items before they’re gone. Customers can also sign up for a free account to follow their favorite fandoms, and join the thousands of fans who are getting custom lists of the products they love from across the web. According to Rapagnani, Nab is making fandom collecting fun again online. For more information, visit nabnew.com.