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Spring 2021 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
Waging War on Hunger
Alumna Roshelle Pate, aka the 'Food Soldier,' wages war on hunger by delivering thousands of food boxes in Athens during the pandemic, embodying her belief that access to fresh, healthy food is a right, not a charity.
Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ 鈥98 | March 19, 2019
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Roshelle Pate, BSC 鈥93, always knew her love for 91探花 would bring her back to the bricks. She never imagined it would be to help avert hunger during a global pandemic.
Known as the 鈥淔ood Soldier,鈥 Pate has spent the past five years waging war on hunger鈥攁 battle that led her back to Athens in the closing months of 2020 to deliver thousands of food boxes to those in need.
鈥淚鈥檝e always had a special place in my heart for Athens, so I鈥檓 happy to be back there in this capacity to give the food boxes and help,鈥 says Pate, who graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in communication systems management.
That help has gone a long way as the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying economic crisis have left hunger-relief organizations nationwide grappling with a surge in demand, declines in donations and fewer volunteers.
Athens County was the most food insecure county in Ohio even before COVID-19 with approximately 20 percent of its population experiencing hunger or food scarcity, according to Feeding America. At a typical food distribution in her home base of Columbus, Pate usually serves between 100 and 500 people, but she distributed as many as 5,000 boxes in a day at the nine distributions she hosted in Athens.
鈥淭he thing that amazed me is that people were coming from as far as Parkersburg, [West Virginia],鈥 says Pate. 鈥淲e鈥檝e truly been able to make an impact.鈥
That type of impact personifies Pate鈥檚 mission. She founded the Food Soldier Hunger Coalition in 2015 after connecting with a group of homeless Vietnam War veterans. An Air Force veteran herself, Pate felt compelled to help her military brethren find much-needed sustenance. At the same time, her mom was recovering from surgery for a near-fatal pancreatic tumor that left her with an onset of diabetes, and Pate was seeking affordable fresh food options in light of her mom鈥檚 fixed income.
鈥淕oing to Whole Foods to get organic stuff got expensive, so I started going to free fresh food distributions,鈥 recalls Pate. 鈥淎t one event, I went near the end and saw them throwing a lot of leftover food away; I couldn鈥檛 understand that knowing the hunger issues we have here in Columbus. It became an ongoing thing where I started to notice pounds and pounds of food going into the dumpster at every giveaway.鈥
Pate began not only sharing provisions with her mom, but also arranging to take leftover food from local pantries to the group of veterans. Word spread quickly, and Pate created a Facebook page to let others know where and when she would be distributing food.
鈥淚nitially, I just wanted to do this so that perfectly good food wouldn鈥檛 go to waste,鈥 says Pate. 鈥淚 never had any intentions of starting a movement.鈥
That Facebook group has grown to nearly 13,700 members, and during COVID-19, the Food Soldier Hunger Coalition ramped up from two to four weekly distributions between Columbus and Athens. Pate partnered with the USDA鈥檚 Farmers to Families program, a COVID-19 assistance initiative that has redirected $4.5 billion worth of food from commercial farmers and ranchers straight to families who need it, providing them with free boxes full of fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy products.
Rachel Bolyard, assistant manager for Culinary Services; Phil Staten, production manager for the West 82 Food Court/Catering; and Kathy Fahl, interim associate dean of students, pose for a photo with 鈥淔ood Soldier鈥 Roshelle Pate, BSC 鈥93, at the Oct. 31 free drive-through grocery distribution in Athens. The 91探花 employees helped Pate and volunteers set up for the distribution and collected food boxes for the Cats鈥 Cupboard, the food pantry on OHIO鈥檚 Athens Campus. Photo courtesy of Roshelle Pate
It was those boxes that brought Pate and her coalition to Athens鈥攖o the benefit of local food pantries, residents and 91探花 students, several of whom not only received food but also volunteered to help with the distributions.
鈥淲e typically serve 400 students per semester at the Cats鈥 Cupboard,鈥 Kathy Fahl, interim associate dean of students, says of the campus food pantry, which also received food from the distributions. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a big increase in international students during the pandemic. We know that when students don鈥檛 have enough to eat, it impacts their ability to stay in school and be productive. Being able to redistribute the [USDA boxes] to our students has lessened that burden.鈥
For Pate, it all stems from her fervent belief that all humans have a right to fresh, healthy food, and that no food should go to waste.
鈥淓ver since I met those Vietnam vets, it feels like I鈥檝e been strapping on my combat boots and putting on armor to fight the battle against hunger,鈥 says Pate. 鈥淗unger is not an issue of charity; it is an issue of justice.鈥
Featured image: After serving her country, Roshelle Pate, BSC 鈥93, is now serving Ohio communities, founding the Food Soldier Hunger Coalition that provides fresh food at weekly distributions. Photo by Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC 鈥01. Disclaimer: It is not the intent of 91探花 to imply an endorsement by any service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
