A team composed of three faculty and staff members at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College won a recent competition, “Miles for Meals”, to raise funds for supplies for DSLCC’s Roadrunner Cubby Closet, an on-campus food pantry providing non-perishable items to students, as well as the community. The three team members (from left, Nancy Mathias, Tina Dressler and Lee Anne Bowling-Angle) followed through with their commitment to walk over 1,000 miles during the 9-week competition. The Clifton Forge Kroger also donated 50 “Feed the Hungry” boxes to the DSLCC Roadrunner Cubby Closet, located in the Armory on the DSLCC Clifton Forge campus.

'Miles for Meals' Raises Funds for DSLCC Food Pantry   Clifton Forge, VA (Nov. 9, 2018) - Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, in partnership with local businesses, organizations and private citizens, launched the DSLCC Roadrunner Cubby Closet, an on-campus food pantry, a year ago last November as a means of support for DSLCC students and those in the community facing hunger. “The Roadrunner Cubby Closet has been widely utilized over the last year”, said DSLCC President, Dr. John Rainone. “Across the US, many college students just don’t have enough to eat. Such is the case in our local community, and we are fully aware that supporting our students is more of a holistic effort.” At the start of the fall 2018 semester, DSLCC launched the “Miles for Meals” initiative in an effort to promote employee health and wellness and support the Cubby Closet. Eleven teams of three competed over a 9-week period logging more than 6,340 miles. The winning team, which included DSLCC staff and faculty members Nancy Mathias, Tina Dressler and Lee Anne Bowling-Angle, made the impressive commitment to walk 1,000 miles during the competition. They followed through on their goal, and then some, logging more than 1,136 miles. Teams donated non-perishable food items in order to log the team’s miles for the week. Participating employees donated more than 100 bags of groceries. “The generosity of our employees was awe-inspiring,” stated Dr. Matt McGraw, Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness. “The idea of supporting the Cubby Closet was an added benefit [to the competition],” noted Mathias. “The event brought an awareness to food insecurity, which does exist on our campus.” Her fellow team members shared in Mathias’ sentiment, stating that they were honored to be a part of the Miles for Meals challenge for the fellowship, exercise, and the goal of giving back to those in need. The local Kroger Store in Clifton Forge also contributed to the effort by donating 50 “Feed the Hungry” boxes to the DSLCC Roadrunner Cubby Closet. According to Kroger manager Cindy Bookman, cashier Norma Jean Nicely sold 70 percent of the boxes, which include non-perishable items such as oats, beans, canned vegetables, rice, canned meat, canned fruit, peanut butter and juice. For more information about the DSLCC Roadrunner Cubby Closet, located in the DSLCC Armory on the Clifton Forge campus, visit www.dslcc.edu/cubbycloset.

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