Alone, Erin Conliffe will play her favorite Christmas carols on her laptop computer because, she said, she can’t afford cable or a streaming service to watch Thanksgiving parades or specials on television.

Alone, with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “O Holy Night” or the “Carol of the Bells” in the background, the Butler County Community College student will begin to prepare her holiday meal.

Alone, the 34-year-old Butler resident will carry her dinner of corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and turkey to the white particleboard desktop she uses to study to become a website developer.

“I don’t have a dining room table,” she said.

Alone — “I can’t afford to go to travel to be with my family. It’s hard to get around when you don’t have money for a car or transportation” — Conliffe will sit, fold her hands “and at least know I will have the comfort of participating in the holiday.

“It would be worse to be alone,” she said, “and not have access to a turkey and the other food.”

Conliffe is among a record 78 low-income BC3 students who registered this fall to receive a Thanksgiving meal package from the college’s Pioneer Pantry and funded in part by Butler County nonprofit organizations.

The Pioneer Pantry provided 40 Thanksgiving meal packages in 2021, 45 in 2022 and 62 in 2023, according to Mikayla Moretti, a member of BC3’s food security team.

“The need is increasing,” Moretti said. “The cost of living is increasing. And our employees make sure that our students are aware of our resources.”

The pantry debuted in September 2019 on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township and served 341 individuals through June 30, 2020, according to Moretti. It assisted 910 individuals in 2023-24 and is expected to help approximately 1,000 in 2024-25.

“Food insecurity does impact learning and all those other important health and mental aspects of life,” said Juli Louttit, also a member of the college’s food security team. “So if we can help that student, it then trickles into those other areas to make them more successful.”

Food insecurity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is having reduced quality, variety or desirability of diet.

The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges reported in 2022 that nearly 50% of the state’s community college students come from families earning less than $30,000 a year and are considered to be of very low income.

Two of every three low-income BC3 students in 2023-24 were also independent, according to their financial aid application.

Conliffe is one of them.

“Ever since COVID, there has been a big markup on everyday goods,” Conliffe said. “Affording food, even with SNAP benefits, it’s very difficult to get food on the table.”

The Pioneer Pantry’s Thanksgiving meal packages represent for low-income students “one less thing they have to worry about for the holiday, especially with the cost of food,” said Valerie Fennell, of Butler, a BC3 business management student who works at the pantry.

Conliffe is in her second semester at BC3 and said the Thanksgiving meal package is “absolutely wonderful. It’s fantastic. It gives people hope. It means you are not blocked off from being able to participate in such an important American holiday.”

The Butler County Bar Association Foundation contributed $3,000 to help fund purchases for the meals, and the Butler AM Rotary Club and Butler Rotary Club PM each gave $500, Moretti said.

“As the community’s college, we want to make sure our students are taken care of, not just in their education, but also in helping with their basic needs,” Moretti said. “And the community really supports that.”

The meal packages were distributed to Pioneer Pantry patrons Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 on BC3’s main campus. Forty-two were delivered to the college’s Brockway campus in Jefferson County, which serves students from Clarion, Clearfield and Elk counties.

The percentage of residents estimated to be in poverty in Butler County was 8.9% as of 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The poverty rate in Clarion, Clearfield, Elk and Jefferson counties ranged from 10% to 13.7%, according to the bureau.

“Students are very, very thankful, grateful and happy BC3 is doing this,” said Dr. Jill Rend, director of the Brockway campus.

“Many of them drive a good distance to get here. They spend a lot of money on gasoline. They’re working, but they can’t work as much because they are attending classes. This Thanksgiving dinner package is helping them put their limited resources toward their education.”

Conliffe expects to graduate from BC3 next summer with an associate degree in computer information systems-website development specialist, pursue a position in the field and remain in Butler County.

“The hope,” Conliffe said, “is that I will no longer be of low income. I imagine that would be easier and more pleasant, absolutely less stressful. And if I am in a better position myself, then that means I actually have the resources to be able to give back.”

BC3’s Pioneer Pantry also will prepare a record 85 holiday meal packages for the college’s monthlong winter break.

Students who register with the pantry will receive a fresh ham, canned corn, yams, pineapple slices and green beans, boxed mashed potatoes, gravy packets, produce and sugar cookie mix, according to Moretti. Vintage Coffeehouse in Butler, will allocate $1 for each specialty coffee sold Dec. 3 toward BC3’s holiday meal packages, Moretti said.

BC3 was recognized as a Hunger-Free Campus by the state Department of Education in 2022.

Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.