On-campus food pantry registration open, distributing food November 27
A food pantry run by and for students will be distributing food for the first time Nov. 27, said Director of the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center Shawna Ross.
The food pantry will distribute food every other Tuesday, with the next distribution night on Dec. 11.
The food pantry is housed in a previously unused space in North Campus near the Robinson Testing Center, on the lower level of the building beneath the Robinson Residential Restaurant.
Students who would like to pick up food on distribution nights will need to register on the food pantry’s OrgSync page to give an idea of how much food will be needed for that day. All currently enrolled students are eligible to receive food.
“We’re proud to be affiliated with the food pantry,” Ross said. “It’s meeting a need that has not been met.”
The student government association passed a resolution supporting the pantry during a meeting on Feb. 5, 2018.
Port Huron senior Chase Delor, SGA treasurer and Facilities Management employee, helped put the two groups in touch. Delor said Facilities Management started discussing food insecurity among students around the same time the SGA was discussing the possibility of a food pantry.
“It’s been coming to people’s attention that food insecurity is a real issue to many college students,” Delor said. “It ends up affecting a lot more students than people realize.”
The food pantry will be run by Dexter graduate student Kourtney Koch.
The Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center has hired senior Brendan Mantey as a student coordinator to manage student volunteers who will distribute and organize food, Koch said.
Delor said he attended several meetings over the summer about the food pantry with representatives from the Office of Student Affairs, Facilities Management, and the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center.
The food pantry is collaborating with the Community Compassion Network (CCN), which is a food pantry that helps those living in the Isabella County area. The CCN is also open to CMU students, and will continue to be after the CMU food pantry opens.
Food will be provided by the Greater Lansing Food Bank located at 2116 Mint Rd, Lansing, Michigan.
The cost associated with renovating and running the food pantry has been covered by donors and fundraisers.
“From everyone I’ve talked to, no one is really worried about the money going away,” Delor said. “People seem very willing to invest in the food pantry.”
Only students will be able to volunteer at first, Ross said. Eventually, the goal is to also allow for interested faculty and staff to volunteer as well.
Koch said one of her favorite things about the food pantry was how many different departments on campus worked together to make it happen.
She’s also pleased with the student spirit of volunteering at CMU.
“It all happened because students were passionate about food insecurity, and they turned that passion into action,” she said.
