A doughnut purchase at the North Carolina State Fair can direct a donation to a campus food pantry. The News & Observer reports that S2 Concessions is donating 10% of proceeds from each dozen sold through its Mini Donut Pantry Bowl to the pantry chosen by the buyer: red Raleigh Reds support NC State’s Feed the Pack, while blue Chapel Hill Blues support UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina Pantry Network. The stand is in Kiddieland, and the fair runs through Oct. 25, according to the News & Observer.
The pantries serve their campus communities
The two beneficiaries are campus resources with community-wide eligibility, not student-only programs. NC State Pack Essentials describes Feed the Pack as a student-led supplemental food pantry open to students, staff and faculty. The UNC-Chapel Hill Dean of Students Office says the Carolina Pantry Network is open to anyone in the UNC community, including students, staff and faculty.
Food assistance can take other forms, too. The Daily Tar Heel reported that UNC planned a meal-swipe donation program for the 2025–26 academic year, letting students share meal swipes through the GET Mobile app. That is a separate approach from the fair fundraiser, which links a purchase to a donation for a selected pantry.
Pantries sit alongside other forms of support
Federal food assistance has eligibility rules that can matter to college students: according to the Food and Nutrition Administration, students enrolled in higher education more than half-time generally must meet an exemption, as well as other SNAP requirements, to qualify. The fair fundraiser does not establish how many students are eligible for SNAP or how much support either pantry needs.
A wider local estimate offers context but measures a different population. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle says the newest Map the Meal Gap report found that 12% of Wake County residents faced food insecurity. That countywide figure covers residents of all ages and should not be compared directly with surveys of college students.
