Southern Miss Business Students Collect Cans for Local Food Distribution

College of Business students at The University of Southern Mississippi collected more than 2,100 items in a canned food drive to benefit the Edwards Street Fellowship Center in Hattiesburg.

Students involved in the student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) chose to collect cans so that the food pantry at the Edwards Street Fellowship Center would be fully stocked during the holiday season. The canned drive lasted from mid-October through mid-November.

“I really didn't know how much we had until we started counting,” said Dr. Bret Becton, SHRM faculty advisor.

The delivery required the assistance of several students, including SHRM officers Kellie Ryan, Titus Bennett and Natalie Smith as well as two pick-up trucks and an SUV.

The Edwards Street Fellowship Center is an outreach ministry in Hattiesburg. The food pantry at the center provides weekly boxes of food for more than 700 local families every month. “We really just wanted to help them get through the holidays with enough food,” said Becton.

For more information about the center visit www.esfcntr.org. To learn more about the College of Business at Southern Miss call 601.266.4569 or visit https://www.usm.edu/business.