The Student Government Association announced on April 9 that a food pantry will be opening in the David Eisler Center for the next academic year.
The need for an on-campus pantry came after the Wesley House was no longer able to house theirs. Currently, the new pantry is receiving a grant and a three-door fridge from the Dairy Association of West Michigan. SGA has also committed to donating $10,000.
Computer information systems junior and SGA President Stephen Bender hopes the donation will help get the pantry up and running.
“We wanted to do a large initial donation to guide them and provide some value early on,” Bender said. “We’re doing $10,000 off the bat and then hopefully we can allocate extra funding for them for years to come.”
Dean of Student Life Lina Blair stated that nationally about 35% of college students struggle with food insecurity and housing insecurity. About 10% of college students across the country have been homeless for at least two nights in the last 30 days.
Student Life wants to better understand what these percentages look like for Ferris students specifically, so they are preparing a survey to be sent out.
“It’s important for students to know that they’re not the only one dealing with that,” Blair said. “Often I think students feel like they’re flying solo.”
Blair also stated that if students struggle with food insecurities, they could also be struggling with other things such as finding a job on campus, financial aid, and family stuff. They want to make campus life easier for students by providing help to navigate and connect with resources on campus.
The hope is that the size and location of the new food pantry will help minimize the stigma and encourage students to not be ashamed to ask for help.
“Food insecurity or housing insecurity doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Blair said. “So how can we help students get connected to all the things when they are walking in the door saying they’re struggling with food insecurity when there’s more going on? There’s always something under the surface.”
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Administrative assistant Maggie Walcott, who works at the President’s Office, was one of the first to see the need for a pantry and helped recruit Blair for the project.
“This is something that we hope will be not just a resource for students to utilize because it’s so convenient for them, but something the community can be proud of,” Walcott said. “Having our students be successful by having access to food resources is important to us.”
Currently, the West Campus Food Pantry, located in the West Campus Community Center, is open to any students struggling with food insecurity. Students can sign in with their ID, and there are no income requirements for the pantry.
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