0:00 [music]
0:04 I'm Dr. Lusharon Wiley and I retired from the
0:08 University of West Florida and I worked
0:10 here for 24 years. When working in the
0:13 Dean of Students office as the Senior
0:15 Associate Dean of Students, a lot of
0:17 students who came in really did not
0:21 have the funds to pay for their food as
0:24 well as pay for books and gas if they were
0:26 commuting to and from the University so
0:29 it was sort of like an ongoing concern
0:33 and so one of my colleagues one day said
0:35 to me, "Dr. Wiley, are you going to start a
0:38 pantry?" And I responded to her, "Yes I am!"
0:42 Now that had not been in my thoughts but
0:46 once the question was asked, that is what
0:49 made me move forward. Since we do food
0:51 drives throughout Pensacola, the churches
0:55 are doing community drives, organization
0:58 are doing community food drives, why is
1:01 the University any different? We are a
1:03 part of the community so to be able to
1:05 touch a student such that he or she has
1:09 the food and nutrition they need in
1:11 order to be successful in their classes
1:14 that's so important.
1:16 What's incredibly exciting is
1:19 what has happened since I was here. To
1:21 see it not sit stagnant, number one, to
1:25 expand but then also for it still to be
1:28 operational 10 years later, it
1:30 tells us that it's important, it
1:32 continues to be important, and thank you
1:35 to UWF for looking out for our students.
1:39 I'm Jasmine Rucker and I serve as the
1:41 Assistant Dean of Students. In the last
1:43 10 years, the Argo Pantry has expanded
1:46 so students are now able to shop for
1:48 items. We also offer perishable items as
1:51 well as non-perishable items. We have
1:53 also added to our list of toiletry items
1:56 as well as we now have a cantry located
1:57 on campus which is located in the library.
1:59 We also host the signature event
2:02 The Farmers Market that we do every
2:04 single year. Community members should
2:06 support the Argo Pantry because it
2:08 fosters a sense of community and
2:11 solidarity so our students know that
2:13 they're not alone. No student should have
2:15 to choose between their education and
2:17 they having their basic needs being met
2:19 so the Argo Pantry is able to assist
2:22 students so they have the food items
2:23 they need in order to be successful not
2:26 only academically but even post college.
2:29 [music]