Campus Spotlight: Hunger-Free UMD Responds to Student Food Insecurity

It is a hard truth: a lot of Terps don’t get enough to eat. Add a long winter break on top of that – when Dining is closed for a pretty big period of time – and you could be looking at a hungry winter. Luckily, we have Anne-Elyse Pitre, the CCMA AmeriCorps VISTA for Dining & the UMD Campus Pantry, to tell us all about Hunger-Free UMD and the on-campus resources that can help you out. 

TTC: Anne-Elyse, we’re so excited to talk about the Campus Pantry. You all have a brand-new location, with expanded resources and services now! There’s so much to discuss! To get us started, can you tell us a little more about Campus Pantry and what it does?

  • AEP: The Campus Pantry provides essential food items to students, helping with their physical wellness, but also improving their financial, intellectual, social, and emotional wellness. The Campus Pantry should relieve some of the stressors in students’ lives by providing them with food and alleviating the burden of wondering where the next meal will come from.

TTC: Honestly, having a warm, nutritious meal is so crucial to well-being, physical, and mental health. Campus Pantry is doing important work in that respect. Is there anything else that Campus Pantry offers?

  • AEP: The Campus Pantry provides food at no cost to UMD students and staff, but there are a few additional resources available. The Terp Resource Room is located in the Campus Pantry, and is available for students to reserve. The space is equipped with a computer monitor, a headset, and a camera, and can be used by students for any teleservice appointments they might have. The Terp Resource Room is there solely to provide a reliable and private room for students.

TTC: I can think of a few things that a room like that would be useful for – I know we have a lot of folks getting trained up to help students with SNAP applications, for instance. It would be great if students could access that space, along with a supportive person, to help get through that process. Thanks for letting us know, Anne-Elyse! In the meantime, is there anything else you think students should remember?

  • AEP: Don’t be afraid to take care of yourself. Utilize the resources around you, such as the Campus Pantry, if that means it will improve your ability to be a student, a friend, a co-worker. We all deserve the chance to perform at our best.

TTC: I really love that – we do all deserve that. I hope our students can take that message to heart. Anne-Elyse, I want to thank you so much for your time, and for sharing all this great information with us! Before I let you go, can you fill us in on how students can access the Campus Pantry this year?

  • AEP: During the Fall semester, the Campus Pantry will be available to student from 10AM-5PM, Monday-Friday. The new Pantry location is in South Campus Dining Hall, next to the Convenience Store.*

*Emergency appointments are available. Contact 301-314-8054 or campuspantry@umd.edu
For more information or to donate, visit http://campuspantry.umd.edu/

UMD Campus Pantry Logo