Between SHOP (Students Helping Oz Peers) providing a large amount of meals for those with needs, volunteers hosting an on-campus Thanksgiving dinner and other initiatives to support the community during the holidays, the spirit of giving has been strong this season at SUNY Oswego.

SHOP continues its mission of meeting students’ basic needs through the holiday and winter season.

This year, SHOP revamped its traditional Thanksgiving bag program by shifting from pre-made bags to a “pick-your-own” model. Using PantrySoft, SHOP’s pantry management software, students could create accounts or use existing ones to schedule a pickup time and select exactly which items they wanted from the inventory.

“In the past, we would pre-make bags with preset menu items,” said April Lopez, assistant dean of students. “But we struggled with people grabbing stuff because they didn’t always like the food items. We were hopeful that this year, since it was more like ‘pick your own,’ you knew exactly what you wanted. And fortunately, those who did make bags were able to get everything.”

SHOP also offered hours during Thanksgiving break to support students who stayed on campus or missed the ordering window. “We were open Monday and Tuesday during the break so anyone in the area could grab what they needed,” she said.

In partnership with the Office of the Dean of Students and Auxiliary Services, SHOP hosted a fresh produce giveaway the Friday before Thanksgiving. The event, held in Marano Campus Center, reached a wide portion of the campus community.

“We distributed 535 pounds of food, and 74 individuals were served,” Lopez said. “It wasn’t only students. Staff and faculty were able to grab what they needed too.”

The produce giveaway is part of a larger effort to increase access to fresh, nutritious items, which remain in high demand among students.

SHOP typically closes during the winter break, but this year the team committed to keeping the pantry open with limited hours to support students staying in the region.

“This year we’re going to do limited hours, kind of similar to Thanksgiving break,” Lopez said. SHOP will be open Mondays and Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the weeks following finals. It will close only during the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when Penfield Library is also closed.

“We’ll reopen the second week of January starting Jan. 6, Tuesday and Thursday from 11 to 3,” Lopez said. SHOP will then briefly close the week before the spring semester begins to prepare for reopening.

While there will not be formal “winter break bags,” students can pre-order items through PantrySoft in the same way they did for Thanksgiving if they want to set aside food in advance.

SHOP is also providing winter clothing essentials for students. “We have winter coats and winter essentials like gloves, hats, and scarves that we highly encourage our students to grab for these extra cold months,” Lopez said. “We’re immensely grateful to our donors for coming together to bring these items to SHOP.”

Above all, Lopez emphasized the importance of making sure students know they are welcome to use SHOP and that flexibility is built into the program.

“I want to make sure students are aware that these resources are available for them,” Lopez said. “And if appointments are needed outside of the hours available, we can make adjustments and work with our resources in the area to accommodate.”

Lopez added a heartfelt message for students during the holiday season: “Happy holidays for everybody. We’re here for them.”

Thanksgiving gathering

SUNY Oswego’s second annual on-campus Thanksgiving dinner once again brought warmth, community and home-cooked care to students who remained on campus over the holiday break. 

International Language and Education Center Program Manager Daniel Scharf led the dinner. Before working in higher education, Scharf worked as a chef for 10 years which helped with creating and planning the Thanksgiving dinner.

“This is my second year working here,” Scharf said. “And last year, I was thinking about it and realized dining halls were closed and there was nothing on Thanksgiving. I was talking to Lillian [Evans], director of the Triandiflou Institute. We decided, ‘Hey, let's set up something.’”

All cooking took place in Cooper Dining Hall, as Auxiliary Services provided kitchen access and helped supply groceries and pantry staples like olive oil and flour. The dinner is funded by Hart Hall Foundation, managed by Associate Provost Rameen Mohammad, as well as an Auxiliary Services grant.

This year, the planning team expanded and the dinner had 21 volunteers sign up to help prep, cook, serve and clean. Volunteers spent Tuesday and Wednesday prepping ingredients, so that Thanksgiving Day itself could run smoothly, Scharf said.

“We had a bigger group this time,” Scharf said.“Andjela Dapa from [residence life and housing/Auxiliary Services] communications came in and did a social media campaign, and we had people from all across campus help us plan.”

The team made enough food for 120 people and leftovers were donated to the local shelter Victory Transformation.

“Parth Makwana came every day and was basically my sous chef,” Scharf said. “Jason Lynn worked all day and a student, Dami Oladosu came in and helped a lot. … We were there until around 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Then I came back at 9 the next morning to scrub everything down.”

While last year’s menu was built by a small team and a more “basic menu,” this year’s dishes were shaped directly by student input, Scharf said. Through the social media campaign led by Dapa, students shared their favorite Thanksgiving foods, influencing the expanded menu.

Alongside traditional turkey, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and green beans, the kitchen introduced macaroni and cheese, Puerto Rican-style black beans, Jamaican-style callaloo, white rice and sweet potato casserole. Desserts were led by Faculty Resident Mentor Shirley Retz, who teaches a baking class in Hart Hall. Many dishes were also intentionally made vegan or gluten-free.

“We tried to make it accessible to more people,” Scharf said. “Even though we don’t have that many vegan students, we wanted everyone to have something. The mashed potatoes were vegan and they tasted just the same. Everything but the turkey and macaroni and cheese was vegan.”

Students complimented nearly every dish. “People said they loved the stuffing,” Scharf said. “Others said the turkey was great. We kept it really moist. Lillian led on one of the prep days putting together the macaroni and cheese. And I personally thought that was the best.”

Though the event cannot currently be opened to the wider Oswego community yet, Scharf hopes that one day it might be possible. 

Scharf counted 56 students who were able to attend the dinner. The dinner allows students to find comfort, connection and a tasty meal during the holiday season.

Scharf wanted to thank all volunteers as well as anyone who attended the dinner. Notable volunteers include Anastasiia Kotliar, Andrei Shilikov, Daniel Siddons, April Lopez, Kate Spector, Scott Cunningham, Georgenson Anselme, Steven Cook and Julia Koeppe. 

SEFA’s community activities

Other initiatives supporting the community include the 38th annual State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) Toy Drive. Each year, the campus collects around $10,000 worth of toys, distributed through the Oswego County Children’s Fund, SUNY Oswego’s nonprofit partner for the initiative.

Toy sorting took place during finals week before the major distribution event on Sunday, Dec. 21, in Swetman Gym. 

“The Children’s Fund expects to serve over 1,500 kids this year,” SEFA co-chair Cathy Johnson explained. “Parents walk through the sorted areas and choose three toys for each child, plus puzzles, stocking stuffers, books, wrapping supplies and even batteries when needed.”

In addition to the toy drive, SUNY Oswego  hosted its annual Teddy Bear Toss at two hockey games: the men’s game on Friday, Dec. 5, and the women’s game on Saturday, Dec. 6. Stuffed animals are then delivered through United Way’s Toys for Tots campaign, with many remaining in Oswego County to support local families.

Combined with the many efforts of student organizations, Laker student-athletes and many others, these efforts reflect SUNY Oswego’s commitment to community care during the holiday season.

–- Written by Natalie Glosek of the Class of 2026