One hundred and twenty CHASS students, faculty and staff recently partnered with five food-focused nonprofits to pack 10,152 meals and contribute 300 hours of service. It was all part of Human Factor Service Week, which showcased the college’s commitment to tackling food insecurity and offering meaningful hands-on learning experiences.

The initiative, held Oct. 16-24, paired volunteers from departments across the college with local food-related organizations to help address critical challenges such as food access, security and sustainability — key themes of the inaugural Human Factor Speaker Series held earlier this fall.

Service Week kicked off with a meal-packing event with the global nonprofit Rise Against Hunger on Oct. 16 in honor of World Food Day. Participants packed 10,152 meals for families in need.

Zack Karges, Rise Against Hunger’s Raleigh area manager, informed the 60 CHASS volunteers in Caldwell Hall Lounge that the packed meals would likely go to Madagascar or the Philippines. They would be shipped in the next few months and were part of the organization’s Nourishing Minds Pathway and School Development Program.

“A big thing about Rise Against Hunger is that we are not just trying to feed people,“ Karges added. “You can’t in world hunger, just feed people, you have to provide them with education resources, knowledge, and the know-how so they become self-sustaining, and they help themselves, their families and their communities.”

Other Service Week participants volunteered with NC State organizations, such as the Agroecology Farm and Feed the Pack Food Pantry, and with local groups like the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina. These volunteers served as culinary and warehouse assistants, drivers, and clean-up helpers, among other roles.

Each service opportunity underscored how the humanities and social sciences extend beyond theory, connecting human-centered insights with tangible results. Throughout the week, volunteers wore T-shirts emblazoned with “To Help is Human,” uniting participants around the shared purpose of community and compassion.

By the end of the week:

• Students gained hands-on experience applying classroom knowledge to real-world challenges. 
• Faculty strengthened ties between scholarship and service.
• Community partners received critical support to advance their missions.

“Service Week showcased that a humanities and social sciences education isn’t just about academics, it’s about leading with humanity, compassion and collaboration,” CHASS dean Deanna Dannels said. “Connecting scholarship with service demonstrated how critical thinking, cultural awareness and communication skills translate into addressing pressing challenges and creating meaningful change.”

For many participants, the experience was as much about perspective as action. Public administration graduate student James W. Cotton, who volunteered at the Rise Against Hunger meal-packing event, said the experience helped him connect classroom learning to real-world service.

“Being directly involved in packaging meals showed me what volunteering really entails,” Cotton said. “And hearing Zack (from Rise Against Hunger) talk about the populations his organization serves highlighted the scale of food insecurity.”

Cotton added that what stood out most to him about the event was the teamwork. “Working alongside people I’d never met toward a common goal was incredible,” he said.

“Working alongside people I’d never met toward a common goal was incredible.”

The initiative also reflects the Human Factor Speaker Series’ focus on food security, access and sustainability. It was launched on Sept. 19 with a sold-out event featuring culinary icon Alton Brown.

The series explores human-centered solutions to complex challenges, highlighting how the liberal arts prepare students to tackle global issues. Service Week demonstrated how the college extends learning beyond the classroom, empowering students to apply their skills in real-world settings.

The conversation about the human side of food continues with two additional events this year as part of the series. On Nov. 12, an alumni food panel will bring together four graduates to discuss their careers in the food industry and explore current food-related topics. In December, there will be a food as communication “edible humanities fair,” from communication professor Cindy Rosenfeld and her Environmental Communication course.

Together, these efforts reflect CHASS’s commitment to connecting ideas with impact. From exploring the meaning behind food to packing meals, CHASS students, faculty and alumni are demonstrating that putting humanity at the center of their work doesn’t just change how we think, it changes what we do.