Spring Break
Starving? Emergency Food Pantry can provide help
Based in Snell Hall, food pantry started at beginning of this term, has already served over 40 people in need
Makenna Bishop
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: News
While it's considered normal on a college campus for students to have a diet consisting of Ramen noodles and coffee, penny-pinching on food isn't always the healthiest option.
Oregon State students recently started an emergency food pantry to provide students and low-income individuals and families with food once a month. Many students qualify and do not realize they can get regular help.
The idea for the OSU Emergency Food Pantry originated with those who work with Ten Rivers Food Web, a local nonprofit organization that works in many areas relating to food.
One focus of Ten Rivers Food Web is helping low-income people access food, which fit with OSU's Emergency Food Pantry's target of an underrepresented group: low-income college students.
Sarah Cunningham, a graduate student in anthropology and coordinator for the Pantry, said she began to work on this project shortly after arriving in Corvallis in the fall of 2007.
She founded the OSU Food Group, which is a student organization that undertook the planning and operation of the pantry project.
Cunningham said they were faced with many challenges while trying to upstart the program, such as finding a suitable space, raising funds to purchase food, gaining approval to be part of the Oregon Food Bank System and filling out many required forms.
All of their challenges were successfully handled with the help the OSU administration, Ten Rivers Food Web and the Empty Bowls fundraiser.
Eligibility is dependant on household size and monthly or yearly income. A single person making $1,670 a month or less than $20,036 a year would be able to receive emergency food from the pantry once a month.
First-time customers are required to fill out an initial intake form and survey that helps the organizers understand the demographics of the population they are serving. Lastly, new customers are asked to sign an official declaration of need from the USDA.
The food is meant for those who are experiencing food insecurity or uncertainty of their ability to access sufficient amounts of nutritious foods.
Oregon State students recently started an emergency food pantry to provide students and low-income individuals and families with food once a month. Many students qualify and do not realize they can get regular help.
The idea for the OSU Emergency Food Pantry originated with those who work with Ten Rivers Food Web, a local nonprofit organization that works in many areas relating to food.
One focus of Ten Rivers Food Web is helping low-income people access food, which fit with OSU's Emergency Food Pantry's target of an underrepresented group: low-income college students.
Sarah Cunningham, a graduate student in anthropology and coordinator for the Pantry, said she began to work on this project shortly after arriving in Corvallis in the fall of 2007.
She founded the OSU Food Group, which is a student organization that undertook the planning and operation of the pantry project.
Cunningham said they were faced with many challenges while trying to upstart the program, such as finding a suitable space, raising funds to purchase food, gaining approval to be part of the Oregon Food Bank System and filling out many required forms.
All of their challenges were successfully handled with the help the OSU administration, Ten Rivers Food Web and the Empty Bowls fundraiser.
Eligibility is dependant on household size and monthly or yearly income. A single person making $1,670 a month or less than $20,036 a year would be able to receive emergency food from the pantry once a month.
First-time customers are required to fill out an initial intake form and survey that helps the organizers understand the demographics of the population they are serving. Lastly, new customers are asked to sign an official declaration of need from the USDA.
The food is meant for those who are experiencing food insecurity or uncertainty of their ability to access sufficient amounts of nutritious foods.
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