UCF Knights men’s basketball fans are asked to bring a food or toiletry donation to the home game Feb. 11 to help support the Knights Helping Knights Pantry, an on-campus food pantry for students in need.

Peanut butter, pasta and toilet paper are items most in need, but any nonperishable food items will be accepted by the pantry.

Knights Helping Knights Pantry manager Jessica Roberts hopes to collect 50 pounds of donated food and supplies at the game to help stock the pantry for the spring semester and to provide students in need with supplies during spring break when campus and the pantry are closed. The pantry served more than 13,300 students in the past academic year.

“During the spring there are always fewer food drives compared to the fall, when everyone’s in the giving spirit for the holidays,” Roberts said. “We always run low during the spring. This will help supplement the expected drop in donations.”

The UCF Knights will take on the Connecticut Huskies at 6 p.m. in the CFE Arena.

Also at the basketball game will be Theatre UCF students who will help collect donated food alongside pantry volunteers. This is to help familiarize theatre students about food insecurity and the need for donations in preparation for a production Feb. 24 about overcoming the challenge of hunger in a community. Students will perform Puddin’ and the Grumble, a story of hunger told from the perspective of a fifth grader, in the Visual Arts Building auditorium in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

“It’s important for actors to bring authenticity to the characters they are playing and their circumstances. Puddin’ and the Grumble is a show that allows us to see that hunger is something that doesn’t just affect the most impoverished, but that one moment can change someone’s life and make them food insecure,” said Elizabeth Horn, theatre assistant professor. “By working with Second Harvest and Knights Pantry, the students are building empathy for others, which will allow them to create a more meaningful and heartfelt performance.”

Donations for the pantry also will be collected at the Puddin’ and the Grumble performance.