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NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - College students strapped for cash no longer have to choose between paying the rent or their next meal. The NEST, short for Nassau Empowerment and Support for Tomorrow, is a nonprofit food pantry inside an office on the campus of Nassau Community College in Garden City. It's part of a growing trend on campuses nationwide to fight food in-security.
Executive Director Sharon Masrour used to keep boxes of food in the trunk of her car to help the students who had no choice but to skip meals. Now those students as well as faculty have access to this fully functional food pantry three days a week a few hours each day. It already services nearly 100 guests including sophomore Antonio Deberry. He says almost his whole check goes towards rent so he has no money to go to the grocery store. He calls NEST a blessing.
A box is in every department office throughout campus. Typically the people who come in looking for food have other unmet needs as well. They're also collecting baby and pet supplies and personal hygiene items. With time, they're hoping to eventually move to a larger space to be able to offer even more.