The UT Outpost hosted a donation drive with games and free snacks at the Turtle Pond on Tuesday, prior to reopening their main building on March 27.

The UT Outpost provides free food and business attire for students at the University of Texas. UT Outpost coordinator Valeria Martin said 2,200 students visited the Outpost during the Fall 2023 semester. The field-day event aimed to gather donations while raising awareness about the Outpost, which has been closed for 6 weeks due to building maintenance. 

“Donating to UT Outpost really supports the work that we’re doing and allows our community to support each other,” Martin said.“We’ll be up and running for our students, and we’re just really excited to have them back in our space.”

During the last three weeks of closure, the Outpost operated a pop-up location at the Student Services Building. The UT Outpost will officially reopen Wednesday, March 27 at 2 p.m. 

Senior chemistry major Sarah Tran said she started visiting the Outpost every week because she couldn’t easily access transportation to the grocery store. She said she decided to volunteer for the organization this semester and helped run the donation drive.

“A lot of students are coming by and grabbing snacks, and some of them are even asking me ‘What is this for?’ So I have the opportunity to tell them more about UT Outpost,” Tran said. “It’s definitely a resource that everyone should be taking advantage of.”

The event, “UT Outpost Outside” included a raffle for UT merchandise and a table of free snacks and kitchen supplies. Students could make friendship bracelets, paint tote bags, compete in potato sack races or play other outdoor games.

Mechanical engineering freshman Carol Reji went to the donation drive as a break from midterms. She said the UT Outpost career closet helped her friends find business attire for an engineering career fair. 

“I finished my midterm, so I was like ‘I need something to take a break,’” Reji said. “It was very refreshing.”