Many campuses work to fight against hunger in the local community, but a growing number of NC colleges and universities are grappling with the problem of food insecurity among their own students and staff. One way these schools are responding is through the creation of on-campus food pantries. Currently, twelve NC campuses host or are developing pantries.
Durham Tech collects items for its campus food pantry.
NC Campus Compact will convene a special webinar, “Establishing and Maintaining a Campus Food Pantry,” on Wednesday, May 21 at 2:00 PM. Our featured presenter will be Nate Smith-Tyge, Director of the Michigan State University Student Foodbank and co-founder of the College and University Food Bank Alliance. Now in its 21st year of operation, the MSU food bank is one of the oldest on-campus food pantries in the country. Smith-Tyge has led the food bank since 2010. The session will also be a chance for representatives of NC campus food banks to share their ideas and progress. All NC campuses are invited to register here for the online training.
Campus food pantries have gained increasing attention in our state. NC Central University in Durham has one of the newest programs after beginning food distribution last month. Durham Technical Community College started its campus food pantry in January 2013, and then-NC Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Sally Parlier played a key role in the project. DTCC’s pantry has served hundreds of students since it opened, and it relies on a close relationship with a nearby community garden to add fresh produce to other donated food. A recent article in the Raleigh News & Observer explored the proliferation of these efforts, including pantries at NC State University and Meredith College. Another Raleigh school, Wake Technical Community College, opened its food pantry this past January. UNC Pembroke’s CARE Resource Center includes a campus pantry, professional clothing closet, computer lab, and other supports.
The CARE Resource Center at UNC Pembroke
Below is our list of NC campus food pantries. Please contact NC Campus Compact Associate Director Leslie Garvin (lgarvin[@]elon.edu) to learn more about the webinar session or to share information about a campus food pantry that is not on this list.
- Alamance Community College
- Catawba Valley Community College
- Durham Technical Community College
- Guilford College
- Guilford Technical Community College
- Meredith College
- NC Central University
- NC State University
- UNC Chapel Hill (in development)
- UNC Charlotte
- UNC Pembroke
- Wake Technical Community College