Gardiner Tucker still remembers a story his dad told him when he was young.
His dad grew up in Manhattan, N.Y., during the Great Depression, and Tucker’s grandparents would often go without food so his dad could eat.
Tucker, the interim dean of students at the University of Northern Colorado, knows that story still plays out today, even among UNC students. That’s why his office has worked since 2014 to feed students who face what’s known as “food insecurity.”
The Bear Pantry, a converted storage closet in the basement of Decker Hall, offers a variety of free food to about 200 UNC students per month.
“It’s an amazing story. Folks in (the dean of students office) and others saw this need … they had one food drive (in 2014) and ever since then it’s been history. — Tumaini Mporampora, Bear Pantry director
Tumaini Mporampora, a graduate student and Bear Pantry director, knows there’s likely more need than the Bear Pantry is currently serving.
But she’s also happy with the progress.
“It’s an amazing story,” Mporampora said. “Folks in (the dean of students office) and others saw this need … they had one food drive (in 2014) and ever since then it’s been history.”
The history includes two years of running on the generous donations of professors and student groups, the growing number of students served each year and this year, for the first time, a dedicated line in the university’s budget for the pantry.
After students voted to increase their own fees $2.50 per semester to support the Bear Pantry, UNC administrators stepped in to provide $40,000 this year. They didn’t want to increase fees, so they found the money elsewhere. Tucker said the commitment from UNC is important.
“Often times, in our educational mission, we don’t always realize the issues our students are struggling with,” Tucker said. “In this case, often times people make great sacrifice (to improve their future), and frequently those sacrifices are food related. They eat less or feed their kids but not themselves. The Bear Pantry fills a unique niche that way.”
A nearly 4,000-student, 12-state survey by a variety of organizations, including the College and University Food Bank Alliance, found 20 percent of students at four-year institutions struggle with food insecurity, which is defined as not having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.
What’s more, food insecurity hits students of color and first-generation students hardest, with 57 percent of black students reporting food insecurity and 56 percent of first-generation students reporting the same.
The challenge, for Mporampora and others going forward, will be to continue to seek out those in need and to have those in need seek out the Bear Pantry.
Mporampora said she believes that’s already happening, but she remembers two years ago there was quite the stigma around those who had to use the Bear Pantry. It helps that the university is showing commitment with dedicated funding. Time helps, too, Mporampora said. It’s possible, and Tucker agrees, the personal interaction Mporampora and the staff have with students in need could be the biggest factor in helping more students.
“We really stress that customer service aspect — we try to make people feel at home,” Mporampora said.
With UNC’s commitment to increase its diversity and provide opportunities to traditionally underserved populations of students, it’s likely the need will increase. The pantry does not require any sort of proof that students can’t pay for food to use it.
Mporampora said she’s already noticed it, although the university will have a better handle on that data by next year. The pantry just started using sophisticated software to track visits to better serve — and gauge — the need on campus.
“It just matches so perfectly with the mission of our university,” Mporampora said. “There’s a lot of data all over that shows that if a student is eating well, feels supported by the university, that correlates to their performance in the classroom.”
— Tyler Silvy covers education for The Greeley Tribune. Reach him at tsilvy@greeleytribune.com. Connect with him at http://ift.tt/1ibNClZ or @TylerSilvy on Twitter.
