Pop-up food pantries increase awareness about food insecurity

The February and April pop-up food pantries on CSC’s campus stemmed from the Oxfam Hunger Banquet hosted by students in the Event Planning and Leadership class the last five years.

Christine Fullerton, a Public Services Librarian at King Library, and Geoffrey Ledbetter, a part-time staff-member at the King Library, took on the food pantry project to provide additional support to students both on and off campus.

Dr. Shaunda French-Collins, an associate professor who teaches Event Planning and Leadership (CA 239), said she believes awareness about food insecurity has continued to increase on campus through the food pantry. French-Collin's Risk and Crisis Communication (CA 425) class also played a role in the food pantry by creating awareness about the food pantries.

Fullerton and Ledbetter said the project was possible due to Student Senate’s involvement. Student Senate allocated $500 to the February pantry that provided 25 bags of food to students. An additional 20 bags were donated for students through the Shepherd’s Pantry at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Private donations also supported the purchase of food.

Lily Umeta, an international student from Ethiopia and Student Senate Vice President of Finance, said this project is near and dear to her heart.

“Student Senate is always looking for ways to give back to the student body. We want to tackle as many big stressors to our student body as possible and food insecurity is the biggest stressor. Before the first pop-up food pantry event, there were a lot of unknowns and logistics that we were unsure about but we quickly realized that the project was more than needed in our campus community therefore we allocated $1,000 to help the student body in April,” Umeta said.

The February food pantry provided 50 students with bags of food and the second pantry in April gave away 52 bags.

“Student Senate has been hugely instrumental in this project. Without their initial financial contribution, we couldn’t have gotten this project off the ground. After they saw the need in the February, they doubled their contribution for April’s event,” said Fullerton.

According to a study by the American Psychological Association, 41 percent of university and college students report some level of food insecurity.

Discussions will take place this summer to determine how to ensure the sustainability of the project. For those who would like to donate to the food pantry fund, contact either the Chadron State Foundation or Public Services Librarian Christine Fullerton.