The ongoing pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity for many students. The Foundation continues plans to host a food pantry for students in an effort to address these concerns.
The objective of the pantry is to provide students with healthy and convenient food options on campus, said Joshua Myers Executive Director of the Foundation at MCCC.
Items like protein bars and whole grain snacks will be made readily available to students, Myers said. These healthy options will also emphasize healthy choices of food while offering students food while they are on the go, whether between classes or studying on campus.
The food pantry will be located next to the dining hall in the Warrick Student Services and Administrative building.
This location was sought out because the college wanted a visible location that is easy for students to access, Myers said. Another reason this location was chosen is because of the commercial cooler and it being connected to the loading bay, which will be good for restocking
“We plan to have a variety of healthy food and quick grab and go items for our students.,” Myers said. “We will emphasize healthy specialty items like protein bars and whole grain snacks to support good health and choices keeping in mind that our students are often on the move.”
The Foundation is partnering with the Monroe County Opportunity Center to supply MCCC with the food for the pantry.
The hours, which have not been finalized yet, will be considered based on student schedules, Myers said. This is so the pantry is available for all students and can easily accommodate students’ busy days.
College students who struggle with financial and food scarcity are at risk of enrollment difficulties. In Fall 2020, a survey on food security was conducted for MCCC. These statistics are important because they can tell us what number of students struggle with getting food, Myers said.
In the survey, 15 percent of students showed signs of low food security and 16 percent showed signs of extremely low food security. When students struggle to have food security, worries about paying for school and tuition come along with that. Therefore, the MCCC food pantry can benefit a multitude of students and hopefully emphasize the need for healthy food, Myers said.
