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Roane State Community College hoping to tackle hunger on campus

The school officially opened a food pantry after realizing nearly half of its student come from low income families.

Roane State Community College now has a food pantry for students in need. The new resource is a combined effort from Second Harvest, Kroger and The Mid-East Community Action Agency.

"I'm glad that we are taking action because this food insecurity, this hunger that we know exists," Roane State Community College president Chris Whaley said. 

The pantry is open to all students and they are welcomed to take anything from snacks to toiletry products and school supplies. It is a problem even the federal government recognizes.

In a recent Government Accountability Office report, officials found as the price of groceries goes up, more than 650 food banks have popped up at schools nationwide.

RELATED: College students experiencing food insecurity nationwide and locally

"If students are hungry and they can't study, they can't succeed," Whaley said. 

Kroger corporate affairs manager Melissa Eads said the grocery store is teaming up with the school. 

"It's our commitment as a whole to ending hunger in our community and eliminating waste in the company by 2025," she said. 

For Whaley, this is an important topic to address at higher education institutions because his son attends the school. 

"I mean this really hits home, my son knows people who are in need on campus," he said. 

However, he believes through opening the door to a new pantry, maybe more students will come to understand just how much help they have both inside and outside of the classroom.

"We want to help them and hopefully this will help us get the word out that we are here to help you," Whaley said.

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