OGDEN — Weber State University is expanding its support for students and other members of the Weber State community who are food insecure.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as lacking access to enough food for an active, healthy life.
Approximately half of two- and four-year college students are food insecure, according to research by Katharine M. Broton and Sara Goldrick-Rab published in the journal Educational Researcher in 2017.
“Most of these students work and receive financial aid, but only a fraction receive public or private assistance to help make ends meet,” the article’s abstract says.
Weber State’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) runs the Weber Cares Pantry, a food pantry that students, faculty and staff can access from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during the semester. The hours were chosen after tracking the times people have visited most frequently.
It’s in a discrete location, a large storage closet on an upper floor of the Shepherd Union building.
If people are not able to visit during those times, they can stop by the CCEL office in room 324 of the Shepherd Union building between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the week.
Students can fill two reusable bags with food and other resources each week. After pantry visitors have completed their selections, they enter information on a tablet and a phone number if they want to be contacted. They can also request certain types of food.
Students who need more food than the pantry is able to provide are referred to Catholic Community Services, which offers a larger volume of food through a food assistance program.
The food pantry is part of Weber State’s food recovery network, so food from Weber Dining Services is brought up to the pantry’s fridge on Fridays. There’s also fresh produce available from the university’s community garden.
“It’s been such a cool partnership to see all these entities coming together in the food recovery network,” said Becky Jo Gestelund, executive director of the CCEL.
The office has had a food pantry since 2011, but it has been run by volunteers.
There were more than 600 unique visits during the 2018-19 school year.
Starting this academic year, the CCEL office was able to hire Giovanni Frias, a junior at Weber State studying in the automotive program, as a part-time employee to manage the pantry.
Frias tracks the food in the pantry, looking for items they need more or less of.
According to his records, the pantry has too much tomato soup, chicken noodle soup and corn. They need more eggs, milk, bread and peanut butter and jelly. He also has a long list of other requested items, like shrimp-flavored instant ramen.
Athletes often look for high-protein items. Protein-rich Kodiak Cakes products flew off the shelves, Frias said.
The office also secured grant funding for an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, Anja Wutz, a graduate of Weber State and Utah State’s master’s program in public health nutrition.
Wutz is collecting data on the larger structural issues driving food insecurity among members of the Weber State community.
She works with OgdenCAN (Ogden Civic Action Network), which brings agencies together to share information and work on improving education, housing and health in the East Central neighborhood of Ogden.
“We’re trying to minimize food insecurity before they even have to use the pantry, so that’s the long-term goal,” Wutz said. “But we have the food pantry for people who are food insecure on campus already.”
To donate to the pantry or host a drive, community members can call the CCEL office at 801-626-7737 or email ccel@weber.edu.
