Members of the Associated Student Body filled the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union auditorium on Tuesday night as they packed Thanksgiving meal boxes for ASB’s Adopt-A-Basket program.
Students volunteered their time to sort canned goods and ingredients that started being distributed on Wednesday by the Department of Facilities Management to University of Mississippi employees and members of the Lafayette-Oxford-University (LOU) community in time for Thanksgiving.
Kennedy Marrs, a junior Southern studies major from Bentonville, Ark., and ASB’s director of community service, said the organization began preparing for this event months in advance.
“We started planning in the summer, so we’ve been really well prepared for it,” Marrs said.
ASB started collecting donations in late September, with items stored in the ASB office and in hundreds of boxes donated by Home Depot in Marrs’ home garage.
Sophia Jaqubino, a junior Southern studies major from Huntsville, Ala., and ASB’s director of philanthropy, said community support made the growth possible.
“Home Depot was so generous and gave us 300 boxes,” Jaqubino said. “People have been super generous and helpful to us, and we’re really grateful.”
Jaqubino said last year’s Adopt-A-Basket produced 206 meal boxes, and ASB expects to surpass that number once the final count is completed after the event.
To determine need, ASB contacted multiple campus departments to ask how many employees could benefit from a basket. After each employee receives a basket, the leftovers will be sent to either Grove Grocery or the Oxford Food Pantry.
“It’s truly been amazing,” Jaqubino said. “I’m blown away not just by the donations, but by how fast people are working. They didn’t just donate — they showed up.”
Many of the evening’s volunteers were students eager to help ahead of Thanksgiving.
Savannah Smith, a sophomore allied health studies major, said the event reminded her of work she did with food pantries growing up.
“We are so blessed, and it’s amazing to give back,” Smith said. “Being able to give someone food they can serve their family spreads love and gratitude.”
Brooke Jankowsky, a senior management and marketing major from Macomb County, Mich., and a twice-elected UM School of Business senator, said Adopt-A-Basket was one of the first volunteer efforts she joined after transferring from community college in Michigan last year.
“I’ve been trying to donate as much as I can food-wise, and I’m excited to participate again,” Jankowsky said. “We did hundreds and hundreds of boxes last year, and I’d estimate we’re already in the hundreds tonight.”
Jankowsky emphasized that the program is open to anyone — not just ASB members.
“You don’t have to be in ASB to participate,” Jankowsky said. “I’d love to see more campus organizations get involved in the future to maximize the impact for students, faculty and staff who benefit from these baskets.”
The boxes, filled with Thanksgiving staples such as canned vegetables, sweet potatoes, onions, sugars, spices and baking ingredients will be distributed throughout the week.
“Hunger is one of those invisible things on campus,” Jankowsky said. “We may never know who these baskets go to, but we know they’ll help someone enjoy a warm meal for the holiday.”
