The Mission of the Aggie Cupboard is to provide free supplementary food assistance to the NMSU community, including Las Cruces and DACC students, faculty, and staff. We strive to create an atmosphere of care, concern, and support for those who may be struggling with food insecurity. The Aggie Cupboard works to educate on the prevalence of food insecurity and hunger experienced by the NMSU community.
In October 2012, Social Work Services, a program under both the Counseling Center and Campus Health Center at NMSU, began operations of the NMSU Food Pantry. With the help of Christian Challenge, who hosted the Food Pantry in their building on University Avenue for the first year of operations, we started providing non-perishable food to NMSU students, staff, and faculty. We sought to make access to the pantry as easy and respectful as possible, requiring only a current NMSU ID to receive assistance, and training all volunteers in food safety and client privacy. Hoping to incorporate a name that would better represent the spirit of NMSU, we hosted a naming contest and asked the NMSU community to submit ideas for a new name. The top proposals were voted on, and NMSU voted to name the pantry the Aggie Cupboard.