For those of you who don’t know the Aggie Cupboard is, it is a small program here on campus at New Mexico State University that provides free food to the NMSU community. This program is open to anyone within the NMSU community and provides them a free bag of food whenever they visit, as well as some toiletries if they so choose. The Cupboard is amazingly run by a single woman, her interns and some generous volunteers. Despite the fact that the Aggie Cupboard is under the NMSU Department of Social Services, it doesn’t receive funding from the university. The campus pays for the salary of the main person in charge and it’s location, but that’s about it. All of the food provided to the NMSU community through the Aggie Cupboard is donated by the wonderful people of the Las Cruces community.
The woman in charge here is named Meg Long and she’s been doing humanitarian work for a long time, and had the wonderful opportunity to interview her right before the holidays. Raised in Michigan, she first came to New Mexico State University for grad school. She’s worked in the Peace Corps and with NMSU’s WAVE and is now the sole person in charge of the Aggie Cupboard. With a lifetime of helping others, NMSU is lucky to have Ms. Long to give us help when we need it. While she is really the only person fully in charge of the Aggies Cupboard, she does have some great people to help her. Long has 5 interns and plenty of volunteers that graciously donate their time to feeding the NMSU community. “ My volunteers are fantastic. I wouldn’t be able to run the Cupboard with them” she told me. “Alone, I wouldn’t be able to distribute all the food.”
She works hard and it pays off. The Aggie Cupboard has approximately 80 to 90 clients that they kindly service every week and approximately 100 to 130 clients at their mobile food pantry. All this with no funding from the university itself. “I work with anyone who is willing to donate” Long said with a giggle, and luckily we live in a generous community that donates plenty of food and toiletries to the Cupboard. There are plenty of clubs and organizations around campus that provide food to donate as well as business across Las Cruces That bring in plenty of food and the kind, caring citizens of this city. If anyone is interested in donating any non perishables to the Aggie Cupboard please take them to their location on 906 Greg St. during their office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you would like to volunteer, you can sign up for their mobile pantry, which takes place during the last Tuesday of every month. Long recommends that you wear closed toe shoes and lift at least 50 pounds. You can also attend the next volunteer training which is on January 18th from 1:30pm to 3pm. To do this you should consider taking a volunteer shift at least once a month.
“Most of us have needed help at one point in our lives” says Long, then adding that people shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed to visit the Aggie Cupboard. They would be welcomed with open arms and plenty of resources for them to receive whatever help they need. They are offering Thanksgiving bags for those who need them and their next mobile food pantry event will take place on the 27th of November at Preciado Park from 12 to 12:30pm where clients are able to take up to 70 pounds of free food. In order to receive services from the Aggie Cupboard, one must their NMSU ID and perhaps a box or rolling cart to carry the food.
We are lucky to have the Aggie Cupboard here on campus with such a wonderful person looking after it. Be sure to check it out and consider donating or volunteering if you can.