Help feed students with a recurring gift to The Market
A new giving campaign harnesses recurring gifts to provide more protein and produce to Hokies who need food support.
Between classes, jobs, and extracurriculars, it can be difficult — and expensive — for students to get the food they need. The Market of Virginia Tech offers essential support through its Open Market Hours program, which provides free groceries to Virginia Tech students on a drop-in basis.
Now, anyone who wants to support The Market’s mission of feeding students can do so with a monthly or annual recurring contribution.
“As a student, having reliable access to food is a really big part of being successful,” said Leah Burrer, program assistant for The Market. “It makes it easier to do well in school if you know you have food and that the right nutrition is available to you.”
Isabelle Largen, assistant director for Food Access Initiatives at VT Engage, hopes recurring contributions will help The Market provide more produce and protein options to students.
“Right now, we can only guarantee nonperishable options, which of course are impactful to students, but produce and protein can make that much more of an impact,” said Largen.
Burrer added, “When students see items that aren’t normally out, such as produce, you can see their excitement, because that might be something they don’t have access to on a daily or weekly basis. It’s nice to be able to provide these items that are a huge part of being able to eat well.”
How your gift can make a difference:
- $10 covers two students’ visits to The Market Open Hours
- $25 provides 50 pounds of produce
- $50 provides 100 pounds of produce
- $100 covers a full week of produce
Student usage of Open Market Hours increased by 375 percent over the last academic year, and Largen said usage continues to increase. In the first five weeks of the fall semester, there were over 900 visits during open hours.
As demand increases, Largen hopes to continue to meet students’ needs while expanding The Market’s offerings to meet more nutritional needs.
The Market is completely donor-funded. While all gifts are essential, recurring gifts help Largen and her team strategize about what items and quantities they can provide in advance.
“Through recurring gifts, we're able to consistently provide each month to our students based on the amount that we know we're going to receive,” said Largen.
Brenna Demko, student director for The Market, regularly sees its positive impact on students.
“It's really important work, just helping people take care of their basic needs and having food to put on the table,” said Demko. “But being able to meet with people when they come in and just ask how their days are or share a joke — that’s really my favorite part.”
Largen said that those who give to The Market make its impact possible.
“We wouldn't be able to do the work that we do if we didn't have generous donors who helped make it possible each month, each year, with a gift,” she said.
Open Market Hours are a free, accessible resource. If students have questions, they can email themarket@vt.edu, call 540-231-3086, or stop by in-person at 801 University City Blvd. in Blacksburg during Open Market Hours. The Market is located next to the Himalayan Curry Cafe.
If you’re interested in providing food assistance to students, consider making a recurring gift to The Market.
To learn more, give one time, or make a recurring gift, visit The Market’s giving page.
