When Lynne ’66 and Robert “Bob” ’67 Hartsell received a modest settlement from an automobile accident earlier this year, they didn’t splurge on a European vacation or home renovation. Instead, the proud NMSU alumni used it to create a Cornerstone Endowment for Doña Ana Community College’s (DACC) Comfort Casita — the food pantry launched in 2023 to support students and staff facing food insecurity.
Cornerstone Endowments are funded by current or former New Mexico State University (NMSU) faculty and staff, making the Hartsells’ gift especially meaningful. For Lynne, it’s also deeply personal. Hired more than 15 years ago as the second employee of DACC Chancellor Mónica Torres, she taught many students who were struggling with hunger: some missing class from illness, others falling asleep or even hallucinating because they hadn’t eaten.
“Our endowment is solely focused on fighting food insecurity,” says Lynne, a retired Development Studies instructor at DACC. “We’ve seen how many students go hungry, and we knew this was a powerful way to help.” Lynne remembers one student she taught who hadn’t eaten in three days. “It was dramatic. He was barely able to talk, and it had a profound impact on me. You simply cannot learn if you’re hungry.”
Since opening, Comfort Casita has provided more than 10,000 bags of food, personal care items, school supplies, baby essentials, and cleaning products. It has also expanded services to four other campuses and centers as micro-casitas, extending its reach across the community. (You can support the Comfort Casita at https://alwaysanaggie.org/donate/dacc-comfort-casitas/)
This month, the pantry gained even more momentum through a new partnership between FirstLight Federal Credit Union and the NMSU Foundation. Along with sponsorship funding, FirstLight will host financial wellness workshops on budgeting, career readiness, savings strategies, homeownership, and retirement planning. In recognition of their support, the pantry will be renamed the FirstLight Federal Credit Union Comfort Casita during the sponsorship period.
“I became involved with the food pantry in the early days,” Lynne recalls. “It was a nice room at the time, and now it will be even more impactful. We can remove the stigma around poverty and help end hunger by making the Comfort Casita an inspiring and joyful place to find the extra resources you need to fuel your dreams.”
Food insecurity remains a pressing issue nationwide. According to a survey of students at 27 New Mexico public higher education institutions by the NM Basic Needs Consortium, 62 percent of DACC students reported experiencing food insecurity. Thanks to donors and community partners, DACC is working to change that.
“When we learned about the Cornerstone Endowment, we thought, ‘We can do that,’” says Lynne. “It’s a way to create lasting financial stability while advancing the university’s mission of teaching, research, and public service.” She adds that when students’ most basic needs are met, they have the foundation to succeed, sharing that the impact reaches far beyond campus. “We’re not just helping students — we’re supporting their spouses, children, and, ultimately, feeding the next generation.”
Married for nearly 60 years, Bob and Lynne first crossed paths at NMSU in the mid-1960s. Lynne had spent part of her youth overseas while her father served with U.S.A.I.D., witnessing firsthand the stark realities of poverty in British Guyana. The Hartsells traveled the globe during Bob’s service in the U.S. Air Force before eventually returning to Las Cruces.
While still a student, Bob knew what it meant to be hungry — living out of his car and gratefully accepting the kindness and warm meals offered by Lynne’s family. Those early experiences, combined with what they both saw of hardship at home and abroad, planted the seed for their lifelong commitment to ensuring others would have the basic resources they need to thrive.
“My advice to others is: Do it now. Put NMSU in your will and make a gift today, if you can. The joy of seeing your gift at work in the lives of the students you are supporting is worth it.”
To add NMSU to your will or make a legacy gift to the university, see https://plannedgiving.nmsu.edu
