GARY — An Indiana University Northwest organization led by two sisters has committed itself to eliminating food insecurity among students and staff at the school.
The RedHawks Nest food pantry offers nonperishable food to students, staff and faculty once or twice a week from a small room in the Moraine Student Center. The pantry opened in March 2016. The university-sanctioned club that runs it is led by graduate student Victoria Morales and junior Alexis Morales.
"A lot of people don't have the things that we take for granted," Victoria said. "It kind of hits home when you see students on your campus hurting."
A 2016 study by the National Student Campaign Against Hunger & Homelessness showed more than 1 in 5 students with "very low levels of food security," and nearly half had faced some degree of insecurity in the previous 30 days.
"Our goal was to try to end hunger on campus, at least with students," Alexis, a business finance major, said. Then, after opening the pantry, "we realized there was a need to open to faculty and staff."
The Morales sisters began collecting for food drives while they were students at Lake Central High School, and continued in college, donating to food pantries.
But "we wanted the food to go back here — to students here," Victoria said.
RedHawks Nest emerged from discussions among faculty, administrators and students, including Victoria, who was vice president of the Student Government Association at the time.
The pantry received an early boost from Philanthropy Week activities in the fall of 2015. A KanJam tournament hosted by the athletic department collected 900 cans of food, and a sociology class taught by Dustin Cantrell donated hundreds more.
Other food drives, including a recent School of Education breakfast-food collection, have helped sustain RedHawks Nest, as have informal donations of food and money.
"Little by little, it's started to grow," Alexis said. "The campus has been very supportive."
The pantry typically has eight or 10 visitors during openings of an hour or two, scheduled as time allows for the Morales sisters and the several volunteers who help them. They send out announcements of the pantry's hours via university email, and are working to set up a Facebook page.
Patrons need only prove their status as students or employees. "There aren't any income requirements, or anything like that," Alexis said.
The food is assigned a point value ranging from one-half to three points. Patrons are allowed a set number of points — last week, which was final exam week, they could shop for 20 points' worth of food.
The Morales sisters hope the pantry continues to grow — and hope it will continue beyond their time at IUN.
"I think giving back is my way to help IU for all it's done for me," Alexis said. "I'm investing into something I hope can continue into the future."
