Shirley Rush with a sign for the Food Security Council.
What comes to mind when you think of a food pantry? Perhaps you imagine a local, non-profit organization where people volunteer for charity and offer meals to those in need. But what about a food pantry on your local college campus? It may not sound typical. That’s probably because it isn’t. But if you visit Folsom Hall on the UMPI campus, on the bottom floor near the vending machines, you might notice that there’s something different.
The food pantry is something new that the UMPI campus is now offering. Shirley Rush, associate professor of Social Work and MSW program director, said that the pantry’s ribbon cutting was early in this semester. But the idea for the pantry has been going around as far back as 2014. “In 2014 I taught a special topics class on hunger in Maine,” Rush said. She also said that a presentation on University Day indicated the need for something like this food pantry.
A campus-wide survey also helped to show that having a food pantry on campus would be beneficial. “That survey substantiated the need,” Rush said. “They presented that at University Day.” Rush also said that the Maine Hunger Dialogue played a role in the pantry’s creation. She took her students to the Maine Hunger Dialogue, and that same year, she and her students wrote a mini grant. And from that grant, they were able to distribute roughly 10,000 packaged meals in Aroostook County in the later part of 2016. “And then 2016 Maine Hunger Dialogue we wrote a mini grant,” Rush said. “And that resulted in the mini food pantry and the compost project.” Rush also added, “And then in 2017 we hosted the Maine Hunger Dialogue.”
The food pantry on campus is something that is open to all students. It is sponsored by the student security council and contains not only non-perishable food items but personal hygiene products as well. “We also take donations,” Rush said. Students never need to feel the need to ask to use the pantry. It is there to be an aid when needed, and people are encouraged to take from it when they need it and to give to it when they are able.
The pantry also gives students something else to be involved with. Tiffany Smith, a second-year student at UMPI, sees it in a very positive light. “I like the way it brings the community together and it gives us the chance to give back,” she said. The pantry is something that can be beneficial for students to use, and it encourages students to give to it as well. “I hope it becomes a big hit,” Smith said. “It’s a great thing.”
So next time you are in Folsom Hall, take a look at the hard work that has been put into this pantry. Everyone is encouraged to donate and to support it by visiting the pantry’s Facebook page. It is already shaping up to be a great addition to the campus and promises to provide a service that is needed in the UMPI community.
