{"id":866,"date":"2024-02-23T11:32:54","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T19:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/?p=866"},"modified":"2024-02-23T11:32:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T19:32:56","slug":"the-student-food-support-pantry-meals-free-of-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/23\/the-student-food-support-pantry-meals-free-of-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"The Student Food Support Pantry: Meals Free Of Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Money is a common concern among students pursuing higher education. For some, spending habits are frivolous and their investments usually end up adding to their already stressful studies, while others track their budgets carefully, especially those enrolled here via scholarships, as they don\u2019t want to spend a large chunk of those precious funds on dining or grocery shopping. Luckily for them, a food pantry, located on the northern side of North Hall across from the Fitness Center, offers a solution that is free of charge. The pantry is stocked during holidays and breaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do get visitors quite often,\u201d said Heaven Rivera, a graduate student and one of the student workers who oversees the pantry. According to Rivera, roughly 20 to 30 students visit the pantry every week. A sign-in sheet keeps track of visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pantry began in the Fall 2018 semester, originally located on the second floor of Hunsaker before moving to its current location in North Hall, adjacent to the building\u2019s main entrance.The different food items in the pantry are available to all full-time and part-time U of R students. Selections include a variety of cereal, meats, soups, ingredients for sandwiches, dried and canned goods, and other non-perishable items. Seasonal produce, courtesy of the Sustainable University of Redlands Farm (S.U.R.F.), is also available. Rivera explains that the selection depends on the food banks the university works with. Among them is Feeding America, a nonprofit organization, which offers resources to college campuses and other related entities such as this one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional donations are supplied by Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County (CAPSBC) Food Bank<\/a>, with whom the university is actively working to have a full partnership, Rivera stated. \u201cWe currently are in the process of awaiting approval of an application, so hopefully we should be partnering with them,\u201d Rivera said of the CAPSBC Food Bank. This would mean a more diverse variety of food available for the pantry. Some selections are also bought from some of the local grocery stores here in Redlands. \u201cEach week we have our student workers get groceries from Stater Bros,\u201d Rivera added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, wares aren\u2019t limited to food banks and grocery runs. Students have the ability to donate food to the pantry under the supervision of the Volunteer Center. \u201cThe only thing we ask is that [students] contact the Volunteer Center so a member of our team can help them with unloading, depending on how many donations they have,\u201d said Rivera. She shared that the Volunteer Center is strict about the kinds of food stocked in the pantry. Specifically,  their guidelines state that donations should be sealed, properly packaged, and not past their expiration date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information regarding the food pantry can be found on course syllabi of various classes on campus. According to Rivera, the pantry\u2019s motto is \u201ctake what you need and leave what you can.\u201d She and her fellow student workers want students to know that the food pantry is an available resource to anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExperiencing hunger is a real thing, especially on a college campus, so I hope that they will use it but also leave what others need,\u201d Rivera concluded. \u201cI really hope that they don\u2019t feel that they can\u2019t use [the pantry]. Having been a struggling college student, I personally know what it can be like to not afford using the Commons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo by Eleanor Bachmeier.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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