Students and employees from across the College of Western Idaho (CWI) rolled up their sleeves Monday, Nov. 10, to assemble food and hygiene bags for CWI’s campus food pantries. The event, hosted by CWI’s Beta Sigma Pi Honor Society, a chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), brought together the campus community in a shared effort to support students in need.
Held at the Ada County Center Pintail Building (APIN), volunteers packed 130 bags, filled with nonperishable foods and personal hygiene essentials. The project was part of PTK’s annual College Project, which encourages students to design and lead initiatives that give back to their campus community in alignment with the College’s mission and values.
“It felt really meaningful to give back to CWI students and to know that what we were putting together could make someone's week a little easier,” said Beta Sigma Pi’s Vice President of Scholarship, Brynlee Buchmiller. “Having access to food is an important part of being able to focus and succeed in school. It feels good knowing we helped make that possible for someone.”
Generous donations from Overland Dental, East Boise Dental, and Terry Reilly Health Services helped make the project possible, providing oral care items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and dental picks. Other food and hygiene supplies, including ramen, soap, and granola bars, were also contributed and surplus of those items were left in the pantries for future use.
Timing for this effort was even more impactful with the holidays coming up and recent external factors that have created challenges accessing food and basic needs.
“Learning more about the process of how the food pantries at CWI are filled and then contributing to it has been a fun and exciting experience,” said Beta Sigma Pi Chapter President, Will Soltau. “I liked that we could hopefully bring attention to the fact that CWI has food pantries for students to use.”
Campus Food and Hygiene Pantries
The College has six food and hygiene pantries located throughout CWI’s campuses, where students experiencing food insecurity are welcome to access food to get them through the day.
- Nampa Campus Academic Building (NCAB)
main floor, across from room 122 on the opposite side of the stairs - Nampa Campus Micron Education Center (NMEC)
main floor, down the hall next to the Bookstore - Nampa Campus Multipurpose Building (NCMP)
main floor, around the corner from the Library - Canyon County Center (CYNC)
main floor, outside of room 106 - Ada County Center Mallard Building (AMAL)
by the main entrance - Ada County Center Pintail Building (APIN)
in the hallway near office 1117
To learn more about the food pantries and how to donate, please visit the Food Security page or contact Juan Sanchez at juansanchez1@cwi.edu.
Beta Sigma Pi Honor Society
Beta Sigma Pi is CWI’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society, a community of students dedicated to scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship.
As part of the Rocky Mountain Cascade Region, Beta Sigma Pi joins more than 1,300 PTK chapters and 3.25 million members worldwide. CWI’s chapter is recognized as a PTK International Top 40 Chapter and has received multiple international, regional, and member awards for excellence.
For any questions about eligibility, membership, graduation requirements, and more, email ptk@cwi.edu.
