U of Illinois-Springfield starts food pantry for students

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A graduate student at the University of Illinois' Springfield campus has started a food pantry for students.

Malayzja Anderson is helping to stock donated, nonperishable food items for the new UIS Cares initiative. She tells The (Springfield) State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/2eys0ZF ) that student meal plans start to deplete around this time of the semester so students may not eat as much. She says UIS Cares lets them "come in and just grab something to supplement them."

The pantry will be open Nov. 17 and Dec. 1. Organizers say students also can email them to set up a time to pick up food.

Those who want to donate can find drop-off locations around the UIS campus. Needed items include canned vegetables, cereal, snacks and sauces.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com