When in doubt, the Food Pantry will help you out

Thanks to funds by CSC’s Student Senate, the Shepard’s Pantry at Immanuel Lutheran Church, pizza coupons provided by Chadron’s Domino’s Pizza, and private donations, students in need of food essentials can pick up a prepackaged bag of food on campus for free.

This innovative idea was first piloted in Spring 2020 and served 100 students to address the needs of  student’s health and food insecurity. Since then, the number of students has expanded and the need for more food has increased.

Each of these prepackaged bags offered by the food pantry includes three cans of vegetables, two cans of fruit, one can of spaghetti sauce, one package of spaghetti, one package of macaroni and cheese, one package of pasta or rice meal, one can of meat (tuna, chicken, or other meat), two cans of beans, three cans of soup, two packages of ramen, one jar of peanut butter and one box of cereal. 

With the primary goal of the food pantry being to support learning, health, and retention, this free bag of food covers all bases.

“I think the Food Pantry has really grown in the past year and a half,” Kate Pope, project coordinator, said. “We started out with a pop-up style pantry in the library with 50 pre-packaged bags, changed locations to the Student Center and started offering students the choice to make their own bag or take a pre-packaged bag, and now we are back in the library with those same options and the addition of fresh fruits and vegetables. We now are in a permanent location and have purchased a fridge to give us the ability to provide more fresh produce to our students.”

It is because of the students on campus that allows projects like this to thrive and become better at giving back to the community.

Due to COVID-19 last year, the pantry averaged about 80 students each month. However, that trend has disappeared as restrictions have lessened.

“For our first Food Pantry date this semester we had 130 students,” Pope said. “We’ve seen continual growth with the Food Pantry year over year, but I do expect that the numbers will level off.”

The faculty, students and community members involved in the food pantry dedicate their free time in organizing dates and times for students to come and collect in free food. The staff meet occasionally to discuss future opportunities such as offering more days of availability and more items to add to the pantry.

“I do ask the students different questions on the Food Pantry form each month to get their feedback on things we can do to improve so that guides our discussions,” Pope said. “Since the Food Pantry is a service for the students, I am very dependent on their feedback for the changes they would like to see made.”

If you have not felt your tummy growl already, make sure to head on over to King Library and grab yourself a bag full of love and essential food.

The next opening of the pantry will be Monday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 5, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, you can visit csc.edu/foodpantry and see more dates and times coming up this semester. For those dealing with COVID-19, the pantry also has contactless pick up available.