There’s a new trend on college campuses these days -- food pantries. The economic downturn is trickling down to universities, with some students making hard choices – books or food?
Florida’s Gulf Coast University recently opened a food pantry. It’s tucked into a portable classroom in a remote corner of campus, pretty much assuring students who come here have a measure of privacy. Students like Elizabeth – a junior majoring in business management who is struggling to make ends meet. She said she came to the pantry to stock on staples.
“The main things that I usually use are the corn or the mashed potatoes or the green beans, mostly canned stuff and it’s really good,” she said.
Elizabeth lives in student housing, although the majority of students who’ve been coming to the pantry live off campus.
The impetus for starting the food pantry came from a student survey in which nearly 50 percent of respondents said they’d missed a meal in the last month because they couldn’t afford food.
The survey was spurred by Maria Roca, Ph.D., a FGCU professor.
“I had a student come by my office one day and she looked like she was about to faint,” she said. “I asked what was wrong and she said she hadn’t eaten in two days and I asked her why and she said she had no money.”
Roca’s Interdisciplinary Studies Senior seminar class put together the survey with about ten percent of students responding. Results in hand, Roca contacted Jo Anna Bradshaw, wife of Wilson Bradshaw, president of FGCU. She’s a hunger advocate who chairs the board of the Harry Chapin Food Bank, the main emergency food supplier for the 5-county area. Bradshaw has put together a student-friendly pantry. One of the stars, she said, is Kraft Macaroni & Cheese dinners.
“The other night a student said do you have butter,” she recalled. “He was looking at the ingredients on the back of the box that you need to fix it and I was like oh I need to get some quarter sticks of butter in here because what’s mac and cheese without butter?”
There’s frozen meat. Costco is donating baked goods. Bradshaw says when Florida’s harvest season gets underway there will be plenty of fruits and vegetables. Local hotels are donating toiletries. Baby food is also available.
The pantry is open twice a week for four hours. Students are required to show their FGCU ID and to sign a form that says they need the food. Bradshaw, who’s been a fixture at the pantry, said the kids get it.
“Students have been very aware of what they can take and right now it’s once a week, it’s about 15 pounds of food, and it’s considered emergency food -- something that’s going to get you between a paycheck or financial aid or money from home from Mom and Dad.”
Bradshaw said everything is donated. Save for the space, nothing comes from the university. Faculty and staff have donated canned goods and money. Students volunteer. Members of the public are also welcome to drop off donations of food, hygiene items, school supplies, diapers and baby food.
Bradshaw says FGCU’s pantry is modeled after a similar one at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. There are also food pantries at Florida State University in Tallahassee and the University of Florida in Gainesville.
For more information email foodpantry@eagle.fgcu.eduor call (239)745-FOOd (3663).
