ODESSA, Texas — Odessa College Student Support Services, with the help of Atmos Energy, planted the last of 20 fruit trees Thursday in the northwest section of the campus, on the corner of Golder Avenue and West University Boulevard.
The fruit harvested from the orchards will go to the Wrangler Food Pantry for OC students who have difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food.
“It's really rewarding when we're able to give back to the students through the Wrangler Food Pantry, and they have access to fresh ingredients that someone might find at a farmer's market," said Kristi Clemmer, director of Student Support Services at Odessa College. "And so their faces light up, they get really excited and are able to take that home to their families.”
This project was the second of two projects the college has done in partnership with Atmos Energy, who helped fund both.
“Atmos Energy’s been amazing," said Clemmer. "They provided us with funding to start our project three years ago, and since then, they’ve supported us every step of the way, supported our expansion efforts, and they’re here today to help us plant the trees.”
Atmos Energy felt that it was the right thing to do in partnering with Odessa College for something like this.
“Odessa College does so much for our community," said Andrea Goodson, public affairs manager for Atmos Energy. "Atmos Energy believes in giving back to our community, and so it just makes sense for the two to partner when they both have the same goal of giving back to our community.”
The first project was a pantry garden to also help support the Wrangler Food Pantry.
Once the trees have grown, students will have access to fruits like apples, pears, peaches and plums, among others.