As the fall semester begins and new faces populate campus, it is important students know what resources are available to help combat food insecurity on campus.

For students who may be rationing meal swipes to get through the semester or those who may not know where their next meal is coming from, MSU has a few different options to help students in need.

Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Matthew Park explained that there are three different ways students can supplement their eating, the first being Mustang’s Pantry.

“The Mustang’s pantry is a student emergency aid program supporting our students facing food insecurity. It is a program that supplements the food needs for MSU students by providing a place or location where they can go and receive complimentary or free non-perishable items, as well as a selection of available perishable or produce items, and also personal hygiene items that they may need through the struggles that they are experiencing,” Park said.

Students who are not on a residential meal plan can access Mustang’s Pantry in Bridwell Activity Center. Mustang’s Pantry is open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Even if a student is on a meal plan, they can still access the personal hygiene products available in the pantry.

Students who have classes at those times can visit the Clark Student Center office and arrange a time to go to the pantry. Alternatively, in the Legacy Hall Commons, a Mustang’s “Mini-Pantry” is available to all students at all times.

“In addition to the main pantry, we also launched last year what we call the ‘Mustang’s Mini-Pantry,’ which is just a smaller offering exclusively of non-perishable items. Mainly, the things you could open, that can or jar or cup, and microwave it and have a meal. So it’s primarily soups, as well as some canned vegetables or other similar offerings,” Park said.

The mini-pantry works off of a ‘take what you need, leave what you can,’ model. This makes it so that students can have access to fast and easy meals, and allows students to support each other in small ways.

For students who need a more long-term solution, MSU has the Canan Food Security Program. Students can apply to this program through Mustang’s link in order to ensure students have access to three meals a day.

“What it is, is that program is a mechanism for students who are struggling to, you know, find how they’re going to eat, how they’re going to sustain themselves. They can apply for that program, which would, if granted, they would receive meal swipes on their ID card to utilize inside of the dining hall,” Park said.

Often, there can be a stigma around utilizing the food pantry. Some students may feel singled out or embarrassed to do so, but Park explained that in previous semesters, they would see many students utilizing the pantry every week.

“We see an average of forty to fifty students utilizing the pantry on a weekly basis,” Park said, adding, “we have just started the new academic year, so those numbers would reflect what we had seen in previous years

.”

Plus, because the pantry is located in the Bridwell Activity Center, students who are feeling anxious about being seen at the food pantry don’t have to worry about being the center of attention.

“The location itself in the Bridwell Activity Center, while it’s in the middle of campus, is not in a highly trafficked or visible area here a person may feel that fishbowl environment of being seen or noticed for something that they may associate a negative stigma with,” Park said.

For students who may want to help in the food pantry’s endeavors, many student organizations will hold food drives. Alternatively, students may leave any perishable foods or unopened personal hygiene items in the various donation bins around campus.

Alternatively, a new program started last spring where students can donate some of their meal swipes to the Canan Food Security Program.

“It’s kind of a way to say, ‘you know what, donors, we really appreciate you to do this for us, but we believe it’s important as well,’ and so it allows that program to reach even more students, to help them,” Park said.