Angels in Action: The Daisy Trade

With one in three college students facing food insecurity, the need for Meredith’s on-campus food pantry, the Daisy Trade, is significant.

“Before the Daisy Trade was established, I met with students and realized during the conversation that they had paid for gas to get to campus, but had not eaten all day,” said Stacy Pardue, campus chaplain and Daisy Trade director. 

Thankfully, although the need is huge, so has been the response from Meredith students.

“Volunteering at the Daisy Trade is an amazing (and easy) way to give back to my community,” said student volunteer Tess Bouyounan. “I love getting to know Stacy and the other volunteers, as well as knowing I’m helping Stacy and fellow students here at Meredith!”

Keeping the Daisy Trade fully stocked is definitely not a one-person job.

And it’s the volunteers who make sure it doesn’t need to be.

Every two weeks, a new food delivery arrives from the Interfaith Food Shuttle to replenish the pantry’s dwindling supply. Pardue pulls her SUV into the Jones Chapel parking lot with boxes of everything from noodles to bananas piled high in the back seat.

And every two weeks, volunteers show up ready to carry the loaded cardboard boxes, organize the donations, and turn bare shelves into filled ones.

“I go towards whatever task is most important for that day,” said Bouyounan. “Sometimes it’s unloading donations out of Stacy’s car and bringing them into her office or the Daisy Trade, and other days it’s just bringing donations from Stacy’s office into the Daisy Trade and organizing those donations. And of course, at some point, I always end up in another conversation with Stacy in which we end up laughing so hard!”

The Daisy Trade volunteers will be the first to tell you that they’re receiving from the Daisy Trade as much as they’re giving to it.

“Volunteering at the Daisy Trade was a good way to branch out and get used to Meredith as a freshman,” said student volunteer Katie Tuong. “Coming here, I was a bit worried about branching out of my comfort zone and getting involved with campus. Getting involved with the Daisy Trade was a great start! It’s pretty peaceful, so if you’d like to just unwind between classes (like I did), the Daisy Trade is perfect for that.”

For Bouyounan, volunteering at the Daisy Trade is a chance to focus on what truly matters: spreading some light and compassion in the world.

“Taking some time to focus on my community is super grounding and is such a phenomenal avenue towards feeling like I’m making some kind of difference, which I hold close especially during trying times like these,” she said.

Wondering how to get involved? Whether swinging by for a couple of minutes between classes or for a couple of hours, volunteering at the Daisy Trade is a simple yet powerful way to fight food insecurity right here on Meredith’s campus.

“It’s super easy to sign up to volunteer at the Daisy Trade,” Bouyounan said. “The link is always attached near the end of Halo Happenings, and you can always reach out directly to [Chaplain] Stacy Pardue.”

Sign up to volunteer at the Daisy Trade.

Contact Stacy Pardue at pardues@meredith.edu. 

Photo Information: Main photo: A huge smile spreads over the face of student volunteer Hannah Larbi as she lugs a heavy load of canned goods into the Daisy Trade food pantry. Inset image: Student volunteers stock the Daisy Trade shelves.