HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS WEEK 2025
November 17th - 24th
As we enter the season of giving, our hearts reach out to those who struggle to have enough food or the warmth of a home. Through Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, we can learn, raise awareness, and take action to help right here on UNCG’s campus, where half of our students experience food insecurity.
For almost 50 years, schools and community groups have organized across the country to support students facing hunger and homelessness and provide resources to students in case they or someone they know ever find themselves in need. The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness traditionally sponsor the event the week before Thanksgiving.
Wesley-Luther and the Spartan Open Pantry (SOP) are heading up UNCG’s Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, from November 17th to 24th, a week before the national event to avoid conflicting with final exams and Thanksgiving. The week will be filled with various events, including tabling for information and resources, a workshop, an SOP open house, pantry stocking, cooking demonstrations, a day of fundraising, a food drive, and a volunteer hour dedicated to building basic-needs bags.
Monday
Food On Display
Smith Center
Monday – Friday
Resourse Room
EUC Azelea
10 am – 3 pm
Tuesday
Empty Bowls Pop-up Sale
EUC Commons
10:30 am – 2:3o pm
Second Harvest
Cooking Class and Dinner
Smith Center 214
5 pm
Wednesday
City BBQ Donation Day
City BBQ Greensboro
10:30 am – 9 pm
Thursday
Thank-Ful
Fountain View Dinning Hall
11 am – 3 pm
Family Dinner
Smith Center
6 pm
DEI and the Church with Dr. Paul Leslie
Smith Center
7pm
Friday
SOP Open House
Smith Center
11 am – 3 pm
Saturday
Volunteer Day
Smith Center
12 pm – 3 pm
Sunday
Basic Needs Pack
Smith Center 214
3pm – 5pm
Sunday Night Worship:
Focus on Hunger
Smith Center 214
7pm
Monday
Meal of Thanksgiving
Smith AMC Center
6 pm & 7:15 pm
What Does Campus Hunger Look Like?
What does 2500 lbs. of food look like? The SOP can distribute 2500 lbs. of food in a single week, but it is hard to imagine what that looks like.
To help us all understand, the SOP will display 2,500 lbs of food in the front lobby of the Smith Campus Ministry Center throughout Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Drop by our center any time to see what it takes to distribute each week.
November, 17th – 21st | Smith Center | Daily 8 am – 9pm
Resource Room
Join us in the EUC Azelia room from 10 am – 3 pm on November 17th for information about SNAP, Dining Services, Greensboro Housing Coalition, the Dean of Students, Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement, and the Spartan Open Pantry.
Discover how you can get support and connect with services to find food, transportation, and housing support. You can also find out more about how you can volunteer to make an impact in the Greensboro Community.
Monday, November 17th | EUC Azalea Room |10 am – 3 pm
Second Harvest Cooking Demonstration
Shallelica Mean from our partner food bank, Second Harvest of North Western NC, will lead a demonstration about Nutrition on a Budget. Attendees will learn how to cook nutritious food while being mindful of their financial resources. They will also be able to enjoy a delicious complimentary dinner.
Learn a new cooking skill and enjoy a free dinner with other Spartans.
Tuesday, November 18th | Smith Center Room | 5 pm
Empty Bowl Sale
The sale will be a continuation of the Empty Bowl Sale that OLCE held in September, providing buyers with the opportunity to purchase more of the amazing bowls that our fantastic community painted to support the SOP’s mission of raising awareness about hunger and fundraising to combat hunger on campus.
Tuesday, November 18th | EUC Commons | 10:30 am – 2:30 pm
Thank-ful
Drop by Fountain View Dinning Hall to donate up to 3 blue meal swipes to Spartans in need.
Thursday, November 20th | Fountain View | 11 am – 3 pm
Thursday Night Family Dinner
Join us for a special version of our Thursday Night Family Dinner. An opportunity for questions and answers about basic needs support on campus will follow our free home-cooked meal. Students, staff, and faculty are all welcome.
Dr. Paul Leslie will lead a conversation following dinner about why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are critical in the church, especially if we are going to serve those in need.
Thursday, November 20th | Smith Center 214 | 6 pm
SOPen House
We invite community members to visit the Pantry outside of distribution hours to learn more about our services and operations and ask questions.
Please drop by our open house to see the SOP and learn more about how we distribute more than one ton of food each week.
Friday, November 21 | Smith Center | 11 am – 3 pm
Pantry Work Day
Help the SOP staff clean, date check, and load the pantry and storage with some of the more than 10,000 lbs. of food we will need for the holiday season.
Saturday, November 22 | Smith Center | 1 pm – 3 pm
Basic Needs Bag Building
Volunteers are invited to help us prepare basic needs kits for distribution to community members, providing them with essentials such as toothpaste, lotion, deodorant, granola bars, lip balm, bandages, and other necessary items. Our goal is to pack 200 bags.
Volunteers will eat together following the bag packing event in the Dining Hall at 5 pm. Parking for the event is available in Walker Ave. Parking Deck. Sign up at the link below.
Sunday November 23rd | Smith Center Room 214 | 3 pm – 6 pm
Sunday Night Worship
Join us for a Communion Worship Service at 7 pm to create community and pray for justice. Kellie Finley-Call, Food Sourcing Manager at MANNA Food Bank and a candidate for ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church, will be preaching.
Sunday November 23rd | Smith Center Room 214 | 7 pm
Meal of Thanksgiving
Join us on November 24th for Wesley-Luther’s Annual Meal of Thanksgiving! Each year, we celebrate together with deep-fried turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatos, green bean casserole, home-made cranberry sauce, squash casserole, and so much more! We are grateful to have dining services pitching in this year to make this the best Meal of Thanksgiving ever. Thanks to Dining Services for supporting the meal and providing side dishes!
There will be two seating options: 6:00 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. The meal is free, but you must reserve a spot. All UNCG students, staff, and faculty and their families are welcome.
Reserve your spots now.
It takes two days of cooking and more than 35 people to make the Meal of Thanksgiving happen each year. Volunteer slots are available on November 23rd and November 24th.
