The Atmos Energy Orchard at Odessa College will soon mark the northwest corner of the OC campus and will provide fresh fruit for OC students in response to students’ basic needs and food insecurities. Atmos Energy and OC Student Support Services volunteers will join together at 9 a.m. April 27 to plant the last of 20 fruit trees including apple, pear, peach, plum, plumcot, pomegranate and apricot trees.
“The fruit harvested from the orchard will go to the Wrangler Food Pantry for students,” Director of Student Support Services Kristi Clemmer said in a news release. “OC students who have difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat can take advantage of the food and hygiene items that are available to them at the Wrangler Food Pantry.”
The Atmos Energy Orchard at Odessa College will be the second project of this partnership on the campus. In May 2021, the first project, The Atmos Energy Pantry Gardens, was created to provide fresh organic produce to OC’s Wrangler Food Pantry to combat food insecurity on campus.
“Atmos Energy is very interested in supporting the communities they serve, and the orchard is another excellent example of their support for our students. Together, OC and Atmos Energy are fueling safe and thriving communities,” Clemmer added.
