Northern students benefit from Johnsrud's loss

from Montana State University-Northern

Let's face it, most of us could afford to lose some weight but few do. Last year, Sandy Johnsrud fell and hurt herself and decided it was time to lose some weight. So, as a birthday gift to herself, she decided to start a health journey and shed some pounds. She reduced her calorie intake and started walking. Now, nine and a half months later she is 101 pounds lighter.

She has a route around campus she likes to walk that is a mile long and has no stairs to climb.

"If you have bad knees like I do, walking is an excellent way to get some exercise, meet people, talk to kids that are on campus, and then exercise your dog as well," Johnsrud said.

"I wanted a way to celebrate this achievement, other than my usual method of buying clothes. I decided a really good way to celebrate was to raise some money for the food pantry, which is something I'm really wanting to see take off on campus," Johnsrud added. "So that's what I did. I thought I would raise $100 to celebrate the 100 pounds I lost. I just went to the different offices where people I knew were supporting me and my journey and asked if they wanted to contribute. So, together we raised $155 for the college food pantry."

The Northern offices that contributed to this project were the Registrar's, Admissions, Career Center, Financial Aid, Student Central, University Relations and the Vande Bogart Library.

"I really believe the school's food pantry is important for our students," Johnsrud said. "I want to challenge others to continue to give to the pantry or start your own weight loss program and contribute a dollar for every pound you lose."

The 2019-2020 Associated Students of Montana State University-Northern Student Senate voted to start food pantry on campus and were developing plans for fundraising efforts before COVID-19 shut down social contact on campus. The last couple of years, they have sponsored several food drives and received a grant from the Hill County Community Foundation to get things started.

The MSU-Northern Care Team has been assisting ASMSUN in coordinating student access to the pantry this year. Student needs go beyond food, so the CARE Team is moving toward expanding its offerings to include toiletries, cleaning supplies, school supplies, gently used professional clothes for interviews and internships and even household items like bedding, kitchen goods and furniture.

The CARE Team is assessing available space on the Northern campus for a larger space that could accommodate the food pantry, along with clothing and household items. They hope to have a place established by the end of the semester so they can begin accepting additional donations.

"There are not a lot of furnished apartments available in our community. So often, our students are from out-of-state or they just don't have the finances to furnish apartments. Furniture items could help us fill a real need on our campus," Northern campus counselor Amber Spring said. "Soon, we hope to accept professional attire donations, so students going into a job interview, co-op, or an internship would have the appropriate clothing they need to succeed."

Wanda Meredith in Student Health Services is the best contact person for a student wishing to access the pantry or a person wanting to donate. Her office hours are typically Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

People can also contact one of the other Care Team Members:

• Taryn Wallon, assistant dean of students and director of residential education, in the Student Union Building;

• Erica McKeon-Hanson, director of the Little River Institute in the SUB

• Amber Spring, counselor in Student Health Services, in the SUB

• Brant Olinger, academic advisor, Student Support Services, Cowan Hall

• Taylor Tate, athletic trainer, Armory Gymnasium