The University of Idaho Center for Volunteerism and Social Action is launching a program intended to address food security issues in the UI community.
Jessica Greene | Argonaut
Volunteers from the Center for Volunteerism and Social Action hand out food Thursday afternoon in the Student Union Building. The group tables from 2-5 p.m. in the SUB every Thursday, giving food from the University of Idaho Food Pantry to students who register at the table or email Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator Micaela Iveson.
The UI Food Pantry will supply food to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as staff, faculty and families in need at UI.
The food pantry distributes food packages to recipients every Tuesday, and each package contains a week worth of food.
Colleen Quinn, Director of Student Involvement, said she is excited to finally see the food pantry helping students.
“I’ve been working on this project since June,” Quinn said. “Technically speaking, there are quite a few students who are probably having food insecurity or that demonstrate need. That being said, not all of those people who are Pell Grant eligible will use or need access to the Food Pantry. We know there is probably only about nine or 10 students who are able to access it right now, just because they know about it and are needing it.”
The Food Pantry table is going to be set up in the Student Union Building across from the information desk every week.
“We were lucky we were able to secure the location in the SUB. Sodexo has been a great partner,” Quinn said. “They basically donated the use of the space in the SUB and a lot of the kitchen supplies they weren’t using, so we’re able to store cold and frozen food in the refrigerators.”
Any student that has food security issues is encouraged to apply. There is an application, but Quinn said no students will be denied.
“There’s a large honor system, if you could imagine,” Quinn said. “If a student expresses need, we’re not going to deny them. If you have the need, you get food.”
The food that is supplied to students through the food pantry comes from different sources at the moment, but most of it is from the Macklemore concert last spring.
“A lot of the foods are from donation,” Quinn said. “If you were around last spring, in order to get Macklemore tickets you had to bring in canned food. A lot of that food came from those tickets. We actually got so much food from that, we actually had to donate some of those cans to the Trinity Baptist Food Pantry because there was so much food, we couldn’t fit it in our space.”
Maggie Hand, Alternative Service Break coordinator with the volunteer center, has been working on the Food Pantry Project for quite awhile. She said while it was good to see everyone’s donations help other students, she hopes the food pantry can secure a steady supply of food.
“Hopefully we will partner with the Idaho Food Bank soon, but first we need to find a sponsor — somebody to partner with us who has a 501(c)(3), so a non-profit organization,” Hand said. “They don’t have any liability with us, it’s just kind of a title we need. Once we have that we can become part of the Idaho Food Bank and with that we will get the weekly shipments from the Idaho Food Bank in Lewiston. This includes stuff like fresh fruits and cans as well as getting fresh produce. Idaho Food Bank partners with WalMart here in town so hopefully we can get fresh bread and vegetables for it.”
The Idaho Food Bank is a large consortium of food banks that can supply things like meats, dairy and fresh fruit.
The UI Food Pantry is also looking for volunteers to assist in the process of food distribution.
“We would really love volunteers to help,” Quinn said. “And what is neat is if you have an interest in nutrition or family or just want to help serve in the community, students can help to prep the bags that go out, or right now we just need a team of excited people to work with us. So I think yes, absolutely, we have been lucky. There are volunteers that are future dieticians that have been working with us so we make sure what we give out are balanced healthy meals.”
“Right now we’re tabling every week from 2-5 p.m.,” Hand said. “And people experiencing any food insecurity can come and grab a bag. You just have to sign your name and eventually fill out a form.”
Students can apply to receive food online on the Volunteer Center webpage. Students can also visit the Food Pantry table in the SUB on Thursdays from 2-5 p.m. for more information or to sign up.
Holden Nelson can be reached at [email protected]