About Harrison Perring

Executive Board Position: Cub Pantry Director

Lion’s Pantry Experience: I joined as a general body member during the Fall of ’22. By the Spring of ’23, I began volunteering at The Pantry during open hours. Now, I am excited to serve as the Cub Pantry Director.

Majors: Biomedical Engineering

Minors: Biology, Natural Sciences

Other 2023-2024 Involvement:

• Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED — a pre-health honors society)
• Outdoor Volleyball Club (OVC)
• Undergraduate researcher (in developmental biology)
• Learning Assistant for BIO 110

 

A Q&A with Harrison

1) What are you most excited about The Lion’s Pantry this year? 

• I am most excited to work with the new executive board to develop and implement new ideas that will help bolster the services Lion’s Pantry offers. I look forward to spreading awareness about The Pantry, educating others about food insecurity, and reducing the stigma that surrounds these subjects.

 

2) What initiatives, campaigns, or goals would you like to see during the 2023-24 academic year? 

• I would love to see the implementation of a more organized, continuous food drive that is sponsored by a rotation of different student organizations per “cycle.” That is, a select number of student organizations could sign up for a ~2 week time slot to collect donations for the pantry. We would provide a continually updated list of high-need items to help guide the organizations’ efforts. After the 2 weeks, the donations from the first group of organizations would be collected, and the next cycle of the food drive would begin (containing different organizations that would do the same). The goal of this initiative would be to have consistent donations from the student organizations throughout the entire semester rather than a single lump-donation from all of the participating organizations at the end of the semester.

 

3) Why should new students join The Lion’s Pantry? 

• Joining the Lion’s Pantry offers a unique experience to give back to the community. Not only that, but it will also help new students strengthen their leadership qualities as they become educated about food insecurity and work with others to combat this exigence.

 

4) What does food insecurity mean to you? 

• Food insecurity refers to the to inability to access adequate quality and/or quantity of food. Food is a basic human need, and according to the USDA, there are 34 million people that struggle with food insecurity in the United States. This statistic alone encapsulates the severity of food insecurity and illustrates the importance of initiatives being taken to combat this nation-wide problem.

 

5) What excites you most about the position you hold for The Lion’s Pantry during the 2023-24 year?

• I am excited to play a lead role in bettering how the Cub Pantries operate. Specifically, I hope to improve access to, and distribution of, Cub Pantries so that we can reach as much of the student population as possible. Also, I hope to improve the way Cub Pantries are stocked by developing a more defined, continually updated order forms so that the sponsors of the Cub Pantries are able to efficiently place orders to meet the student’s needs.

 

6) Please share one of your favorite memories from The Lion’s Pantry. 

• One of my favorite memories from The Lion’s Panty was when I walked in the Homecoming Parade. There were not many members of our club there, however, that did not stop dozens of people from calling out to thank us for how much the Pantry has supported them. I was relatively new to Lion’s Pantry at the time, but this experience was immensely heart-warming and it inspired me to become more involved. It was truly incredible to see how much our organization benefits Penn State students and I am so thankful to be a part of it.

 

Some Fun Facts About Harrison

Favorite Comfort Movie: You

Favorite Way to Unwind After a Long Day: Potting, propagating, and caring for my plants

“Go-To” Fun Fact: I am not a U.S. citizen, I was born in England!