Expanded food pantry to open in Stratford Heights - The News Record

Expanded food pantry to open in Stratford Heights - The News Record

The Bearcats Pantry will open its new location in Stratford Heights Oct. 17, with an expanded selection of food and clothing items.

Daniel Cummins, assistant dean of students, hopes the new space will enable the pantry to cater to more students and host a larger, more diverse selection of food items, among other initiatives.

“We want the pantry to be diverse in its service addressing cultural, faith based, health, and personal dietary nutritional needs,” Cummins said in an email. “The UC Bearcats Pantry and UC Bearcats Pantry Career Closet will become the central distribution locations of various forms of relief to the different insecurities UC students face.”

In addition to providing food for students, the new location will allow the pantry to provide professional attire for students.

Cummins founded the pantry in fall 2016. It offers free food, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies to students in need, with the goal of minimizing food insecurity and other financial troubles.

“The pantry is meant to provide supplemental support which means we do not supply enough food to completely eradicate food insecurity,” the initiative’s webpage reads. “Our goal is to assist students in need by cutting down their grocery bills and connecting them to other resources in an effort to promote independence. The Bearcats Pantry is here to support students of all backgrounds and serve the student population.”

Cummins and his team worked with several other student groups and individuals on campus — including Undergraduate Student Government (SG), Graduate Student Governance Association (GSGA), the Office of the Treasurer, the Wellness Center, Campus Ministries, the Center for Community Engagement, the LGBTQ Center, the Gen-1 program and Dr. Jennifer Pinto — to make the new location possible.

Before utilizing the pantry, students must fill out an intake survey. The survey helps the pantry to understand the needs of students and connect them to more available resources. Then, students walk back to the pantry and are given a bag to place their items. Students are encouraged to take as much as they need.

"Our goal is for this process to be as easy, quick, and confidential as possible,” the pantry’s website reads.

The pantry also offers meal vouchers for students to use at dining halls on main campus and at UC Blue Ash Bleeker Street Cafe. Students can donate extra meal swipes to the pantry, which are given to students in need through meal vouchers at locations across campus. Every two weeks, students can receive five vouchers.

Students are able to help the pantry in its mission to give back to the community by volunteering. Students can also coordinate food and clothing drives to help populate the pantry with resources, according to Cummins.

Students can also volunteer time to assist with the operations of the pantry, and community members can donate goods or money to the organization to assist it as well.

The grand opening event on Oct. 17, will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. at Stratford Heights Building 16.