College Student Starts Food Pantry In Dorm

When Alabama A&M University student Justin Franks noticed that some of his classmates had been going to bed hungry because they didn't have access to food, he decided to do something about it, and now he's running a food pantry out of his own dorm.

According to ABC 10, Franks said that the cafeteria at his school closes at 6 p.m., which is too early for a lot of people to get to and get food before it closes. Students with spare cash could buy food from groceries or off-campus eateries, but students on tighter budgets were stuck without anything to eat. Wanting to help, Franks stocked up his dorm with instant noodles and juice to give to people who had no other food for the night. When he posted about it on Facebook, other people thought it was a great idea and wanted to help.

Franks said he started hearing from other people who wanted to donate food, and he wound up moving his food pantry into an unused room in his dorm building. It stocks snacks, drinks, food, and toiletries, and Franks keeps it open from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m., so people who can't get to the cafeteria for food can get some instant noodles from him.