A student drops canned goods into a box in the Trone Student Center in support of the Poverty Studies food drive on Monday, November 17, 2025. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.
When the Poverty Studies Program learned that recent SNAP funding cuts would deepen food insecurity across the Upstate, faculty and staff acted quickly. Within three days, they launched the Poverty Studies Food Drive, a campuswide effort running November 10–24 to support Harvest Hope, the largest food bank in South Carolina.
“We just asked what we could do that’s immediate in our community and what’s helpful,” said Kelsey Hample, poverty studies minor chair and associate professor of economics, who helped get the effort started along with poverty studies students.
Donation boxes, decorated by those students, appeared almost overnight across campus. Students, faculty and staff can drop off nonperishable goods at Daniel Chapel, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in the Herring Center, the Trone Student Center (two locations), Johns Hall, Furman Hall, Riley Hall and Plyler Hall. A QR code at those sites also allows for direct monetary gifts, all of which go straight to Harvest Hope.
The response has been swift and encouraging.
Food items are collected in a box in the Biology Studies office in Plyler Hall in support of the Poverty Studies food drive on Monday, November 17, 2025. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.
“We have overflowing donation boxes, and as of this morning, we’ve raised more than $900 in digital donations,” said Andy Coe, associate director of the internship office at Furman, who is helping to coordinate the effort. He also noted that digital donations help the team follow the drive’s impact in real time.
For many involved, the effort reflects the heart of Furman’s mission. Poverty studies students are required to engage directly with community partners, gaining firsthand exposure to the realities of poverty. This food drive widens that circle of engagement, allowing the broader campus to participate in a collective act of service.
“It’s a response to nihilism or apathy,” said Hample. “And it’s a reminder that small actions can meaningfully counter overwhelming need.”
As Thanksgiving approaches, organizers hope the final days of the drive will spark a last wave of giving. On November 24, the team plans to gather and celebrate the campuswide effort, highlighting another example of Furman stepping forward when the community needs it most.
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