Over 90 pounds of food donations rolled into The SHOP, Iowa State University’s food pantry, following a food drive from the Seed Science Center. The donations came from the Seed Science Center’s efforts to give back and assist ISU’s food pantry.
Those who donated two items to the food pantry received a complimentary, ‘This is my hungry fighting’ T-shirt. The T-shirts were originally from the Seed Symposium, ISU’s Seed Science Center’s communications specialist Cindy Hicks said.
“It seems like a natural fit; we’re here on campus, we’re dealing with students everyday, and this time of year, students have a ton to worry about and they shouldn’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from,” Hicks said in a previous interview with the Ames Tribune.
“We hope that this can help them out in a little way.”
Hicks estimates around 50 items were brought into the Seed Science Center for the food drive.
“I’m really glad that it worked out so well and that we were able to help people out who need a little extra this time of year,” Hicks said.
The idea of a food pantry was initiated in 2011 by ISU students who saw a need for food security at the campus, the SHOP advisor at ISU Breanna Wetzler said. Since the opening of the pantry, the SHOP has worked to promote a safe, non-judgmental environment where students and staff members can obtain food items at no cost.
“We have grown over the last almost 10 years now,” The SHOP inventory manager and ISU senior dietetics major Nichole Lucas said.
Over the years, the food pantry has grown into three separate locations: Main Food Pantry at the food science building, Frederiksen Court Food Pantry located at the Frederiksen Court Community Center, and the SUV Food Pantry location at the Schilletter and University Village Community Center, according to the website.
Satellite sites were created as the organization saw a need for food security, Lucas said.
The organization is an “all-anonymous, no-questions-asked” program, and has worked to make the process comfortable for patrons, according to Lucas.
Since Lucas joined the organization, the layout of the Main Food Pantry has changed, she said. When patrons walk into the shop, volunteers are no longer located in the premises while others are shopping for goods. To respect privacy, food pantry volunteers now sit at a table outside of the shop, Lucas said.
“(Students can) get food without somebody watching them,” Lucas said. “(It) tries to add the privacy factor and makes them feel more comfortable.”
Additionally, the Main Food Pantry location is hidden, Lucas said, which makes it nice for those wanting to be discreet about a pantry visit. The pantry is accessible to those on campus and patrons are able to take as many items as needed each visit, Lucas said.
“We just want to make it as welcoming and less-prying as possible, we know a lot of people don’t feel comfortable going to the food pantry just because there is that stigma and we are trying to break that,” Lucas said.
Figuring out the impact of the shop while protecting privacy is a challenge that the organization is currently working on, Wetzler said.
“I think some of the changes now as shop continues to grow and as food security becomes more of a topic on campus is figuring out how to get some data points to make them able to share information with others in a comparative manner,” Wetzler said. “How do you protect (privacy while) speaking of the impact of SHOP.”
Those interested in providing donations are able to do so by drop-off during open hours at the SHOP food pantry or also by taking items to the main office at the Food Science building. Additionally, the food pantry can pick-up items, according to the SHOP’s website.
“It’s been such a gracious campus-community to make sure the SHOP has been stocked,” Wetzler said. “I think that speaks to the character of the community: we want to make sure students are taken care of.”
