Alabama A&M Student Launches Campus Food Pantry So Classmates Won't Go Hungry

An incredibly thoughtful HBCU student is giving a few of his peers much to be thankful for as the holiday season approaches.

Alabama A&M student Justin Franks said he was troubled at the thought of his fellow classmates going hungry, so he decided to do something about it. “I noticed that there were some students that said they were going to bed hungry,” Franks told WHNT News. “So, I thought about it and said, ‘What can I give back to my community?'”

With just $40 and a desire to help, Franks started a food pantry on campus where students could come to grab three items twice a week. When he posted about the pantry’s launch on Facebook, the full-time student and campus employee said the response from those who wanted to help was overwhelming. “It got a lot of response,” he continued. “It got shared 600-700 times and so it got around the internet. I didn’t think it would get shared that much, but people really cared about our students and Alabama A&M University.”

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While Franks says the pantry started out with only “noodles and Capri Suns,” the list of available items for students in need has grown significantly with the help of other students, staff, and even alumni. At present, students can choose from a variety of other food items like soup, granola bars, chips and oatmeal, in addition to a few basic necessities like toilet paper and water. Franks says he’s just glad to be able to help his peers. “To me, it just makes me feel like I’m blessing someone,” he says. “I’m a religious person and I feel like I can bless a student. Some nights, students will be like, ‘Man, I really appreciate this because I didn’t have anything to eat.”

Kudos to Justin Franks for this amazing act of kindness.