CABQ Crossing Guards Give Lobo Food Pantry a Ton of Help
March 19, 2024 - Dorene DiNaro
During the holiday season and all year long, the Lobo Food Pantry serves as a vital source of food and toiletries for some of our Lobos—a source that is largely reliant on donations to keep their shelves full. Last year, the Lobo Food Pantry averaged120 visits per day, making it difficult to keep the shelves stocked.
Seeing a need, and wanting to help, the City of Albuquerque (CABQ) Crossing Guard unit hosted a donation drive to benefit the Lobo Food Pantry and the Roadrunner Foodbank at the end of last year. Rob Burford, CABQ lead crossing guard, said that the guards wanted to be a catalyst to help provide food for those in need across our city.
“The crossing guard unit decided months out, that we not only wanted to partner with the Road Runner Food Bank, but we also wanted to partner with the Lobo Food Pantry, so we could give directly to those Lobos that are in need at UNM,” Burford said. “We understand that this includes the children and families at our APS schools, our Albuquerque community, and those Lobos that may not have the food security needed to be successful students at UNM.”
Several elementary schools decorated donation boxes and served as sites for people to drop off nonperishable food items. The goal was to collect enough food—at least 2tons—to surpass their previous year’s 1.25-ton donation.
"Last year we gathered over one ton of food in our first annual drive and set a goal of two tons of food this year, which was met,”Burford said. Thanks to the generosity of community members and crossing guards, the Lobo FoodPantry alone received over one ton of donations from the drive.
"The Lobo Food Pantry was flooded with gratefulness and appreciation for how many donations the CABQ crossing guards were able to collect,” said Amanda Martinez, basic needs specialist with the LoboRESPECTAdvocacy Center. “This event is the start to an amazing collaboration not only with CABQ Crossing Guards, but the greater ABQ community,”
Martinez said the donation not only helped the Lobo FoodPantry feed Lobos who stayed on campus over Winter Break, but also helped them open for the spring semester with fully stocked shelves.
“It shows great strides in our community working together to help each other be successful and thrive. We are so grateful and look forward to making this event an annual partnership,” Martinez said.
With the amount of donations increasing each year, who knows what the 2024 drive will hold. “The Lobo Food Pantry is a great partner and we hope to continue our partnership for years to come,” Burford says.
The pantry accepts donations throughout the year and is open to students from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,Monday – Thursday, with Friday being set aside as a primary donation acceptance and restock day.
To donate items or to volunteer, please contactAmanda Martinez at amartinez95@unm.edu or LoboRESPECT at505-277-2911 or loborespect@unm.edu. We are closed Friday's as a primary donation acceptance and restock day.
