HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) - Michigan Tech's Husky Food Pantry had its grand opening Tuesday in its brand new location in Fisher Hall.
"We're very excited because as of two weeks ago we opened our new location, which is behind me. It's a more accessible and public place. We were in another building on campus that was a little harder to find," said Whitney Boroski, the Manager of Michigan Tech’s Student Health and Wellness program.
The pantry was founded after a survey in 2015 found that 23 percent of the Tech community is “food insecure."
"We defined ‘food insecurity’ as not knowing where your next meal would come from. With 23 percent of our population being food insecure we decided that a food pantry was something that we need on our campus," added Boroski.
The pantry is accessible to everyone in the Tech community, and there are currently no restrictions on how many visits you can have.
"The food pantry offers free food to any student, faculty, or even community members that are in need. We don't turn anyone away because we have a lot of food to give out," said Elisha Houle, the Student Coordinator for the Husky Food Pantry.
Currently only non-perishable goods are being given out, but the Husky Food Pantry is planning on giving out perishable goods in the near future.
"We're really excited to offer things like butter, milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese, and things like that. In order to have a more balanced diet, you need more than just the non-perishable items that we were offering before," said Boroski.
The pantry is hopeful its new location will help it get used by the people who need it.
"It's just more open, and less hidden. Hopefully it's going to be able to take away the stigma around going to a food pantry, and make it more normal for students to be able to come and get what they need," said Houle.
