Helping combat hunger on campus - The Rider Newspaper

_{Julio Morales (left), a student at the Mathematics and Science Academy, receives additional food supplies from Maria Barrera, the manager at the Student Food Pantry, located in the University Center on the Edinburg campus. Aurora Acevedo/THE RIDER}

The UTRGV Student Food Pantry is a campus resource that provides free food options to current students who may need it.

The pantry’s mission is to assist students in need by providing food supplements to those who have been impacted by financial problems and are experiencing difficulty meeting their basic need of adequate nutrition, according to its website.

Operating on both campuses as a subsidiary of the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, the only qualification required to benefit from this resource is enrollment at UTRGV, according to Douglas Stoves, associate dean for Student Rights and Responsibilities.

“There’s no qualifying, like, amount [or range of income] or anything else like that,” Stoves said. “You just have to be a student, a registered student, and be hungry.”

The pantry, which provides 40 pounds of groceries in each order, offers protein, starches and vegetables, according to Stoves.

Orders for assistance must be placed online through the pantry’s website, where students select their corresponding campus and fill out a brief section of information. The form includes a portion where students select which food options they prefer.

During distribution days, 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday and 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, students pick up their order at the pantry. If an Edinburg student is unable to pick up their food during the listed hours of operation, pantry employees place the order in a locker so the student can pick it up at a later time.

The pantry is open most of the year.

“We’re pretty much open all year round, summer, everything,” said Nadia Valdez, the program coordinator for the Student Food Pantry. “The only days we close are actual holidays and one week for winter, for Christmas and New Year’s. The rest of the days we’re open.”

Another resource offered by the department is the Swipe Out Hunger program.

UTRGV Dining Services is collaborating with the national program, Swipe Out Hunger, to provide a Meal Swipe Bank to combat student food insecurity, according to its website.

“Based on the number of meal plans that Sodexo has sold to our residents on campus, [the program] will match that and they’ll go and donate one meal per every meal sold,” said Roberto Cantú, executive director of Auxiliary Business Services on campus. “So, this year we donated 507 [meals].

“… Students will fill out the form [online] and they’ll get a certain number of requests over a few days. … Our team will go ahead and add a meal plan credit on the student ID.”

To participate, the student must be currently enrolled, as well as have access to the Dining Hall on the Edinburg campus.

The pantry also offers opportunities for volunteering and accepts donations. Students who are interested in volunteering may register through Engagement Zone. Donations can be made during distribution times or by placing the donations in the yellow drop-off box located at the pantry, according to Stoves.

Valdez and Stoves said any student can stop by and use this resource.

“We’re here to help out,” Valdez said. “You don’t necessarily have to be going through something to come here. You just have to be a currently enrolled student. This is just free food, basically. It’s like extra money that you’re saving up. We’re here. We want to help.”

The Student Food Pantry is located in Cavalry Hall 101 and 102 on the Brownsville campus and in University Center 114 on the Edinburg campus.

For more information on volunteering, donations or the Swipe Out Hunger program, visit the Food Pantry website at utrgv.edu/foodpantry/index.htm.