Pete’s Pantry: Bike Donation Puts Wheels in Motion for Students in Need

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

OSU Institute of Technology's campus outreach center, Pete's Pantry, is gearing students up and promoting success thanks to the generosity of others.  

A local, anonymous donor provided a fleet of bicycles to Pete's Pantry to benefit students living on campus without transportation.

Students were able to apply for a free bike through a need-based application. Maquel Cummings, an OSUIT Graphic Design Technology student, was the first to accept his new set of wheels.

"This will help me get to class and my work-study position on time and much faster, as well as getting to places off-campus," said Cummings. "It will also be great to have a bike for exercise, not just a quicker way to class and work. This is really going to help me long term."

The OSUIT  Service-Learning Committee selected Cummings to receive the first free bike with plans to choose additional students at the start of each semester, as they are available.

Students who live on campus, have no transportation and can provide their own maintenance and chain lock qualify and are encouraged to complete an application for selection. If you are a student in need of transportation, contact Pete's Pantry to complete the application process.

Pete's Pantry began as a food bank on campus in 2019 to reduce food insecurity for low to no-income students. Through this initiative, OSUIT has expanded the resources and services available to students.

The pantry relies on the charitable contributions of others and partnerships with organizations like Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and Khan Ohana. As a result, they have almost an endless supply of food.

In addition to fresh, frozen and stable shelf food, Pete's Pantry provides other services such as clothing and shoes of all kinds, housing/residence hall items, SNAP (food stamps) navigation and application and Sooner Care (free health care) navigation and application.

All services, except the free-bike program, which is exclusive to OSUIT students, are free to students enrolled at OSUIT, including concurrent, GED and MPower, Green Country Technology Center and College of the Muscogee Nation.

Pete's Pantry is located in the Noble Center for Advancing Technology, Suite 100. Summer hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information about Pete's Pantry, donations or volunteer opportunities, please contact co-chairs of the Service Learning Committee, Beth Rogers, at beth.a.rogers@okstate.edu or Angie Asmussen at angie.asmussen@okstate.edu.