On-campus food pantry will meet a great need

by Jordana Newman  |   

College of Health Student Success Center director Lynda Hernandez at the center's Seawolf Pantry donation site.
College of Health Student Success Center director Lynda Hernandez at the center's Seawolf Pantry donation site. (Photo by James Evans / University of Alaska Anchorage)

Nearly 45% of UAA students experience some type of food insecurity, according to a UAA study. To alleviate this problem, the Seawolf Pantry opened its doors to students this spring for a soft opening. The food pantry was established by faculty with the Dietetics and Nutrition (DN) program while working with the Hunger and Homelessness Support Network (HHSN) at UAA and is supported by a 2021 Selkregg Community Engagement & Service Learning Award.

College of Health Academic Advisor Jennifer Spencer, who is involved with the HHSN at UAA says the food pantry will be life-changing to students and has been needed on campus for a long time.

“It’s going to be life-changing because it’s going to be one less thing students have to worry about,” Spencer said. “The more it grows and the more we’re able to put into it and supply, the more we can help people. We don’t know what people are going through or what people are struggling with silently, so I think this food pantry will help us all understand that.”

While students can currently access the Emergency Food Cache through the Student Health and Counseling Center, this resource provides only three days' worth of convenience foods (like noodle soups and granola bars) for a single person. The Emergency Food Cache is invaluable for students in an emergency situation, but sometimes they might need a bit more. The Seawolf Food Pantry aims to fill this gap and offer a more comprehensive selection of foods for students and their households of up to four people.

The creation of the pantry involved many individuals across UAA.

"Getting this pantry off the ground has been a group effort from the start,” said DN Assistant Professor Leslie Redmond. “From the Union of Students at UAA passing a resolution in support of establishing the pantry and donating $1,000 to the cause, to Lynda Hernandez, director of the Student Success Center, finding us a suitable space. Our community partners, the Alaska Food Policy Council and the American Heart Association of Alaska have been tremendously helpful. We are also humbled by the generous food donations we've received so far from UAA students, staff and faculty. We look forward to seeing the pantry grow and hope to offer opportunities for volunteers, service projects and student leadership positions in the near future."

College of Health Student Success Center director Lynda Hernandez at the center's Seawolf Pantry donation site.
Dietetics & Nutrition professor Amanda Walch and College of Health executive administrative assistant Harriet Paule stock the Seawolf Pantry with food donations in UAA's Professional Studies Building. (Photo by James Evans / University of Alaska Anchorage)

As the department works to get the Seawolf Food Pantry fully operational for a grand opening in September 2022, the soft opening has an appointment-only model to allow students to make appointments for pick-up. Standard operating hours that won't require appointments will begin  in fall 2022, and only UAA students will have access to the pantry. However, students can receive food for their household even if their household members are not UAA students.

Donations of non-perishable foods are currently being accepted for the soft opening. Donations can be dropped off in the large blue donation bins at the Student Success Center in Professional Studies Building, Room 212, and in several building locations across campus, including the UAA/APU Consortium Library. Signage is posted indicating that the bins are for Seawolf Food Pantry donations. Monetary donations to fight student food insecurity, including the UAA food pantry and the emergency food cache, can also be made through the UA Foundation.

For more information, please contact uaa_seawolfpantry@alaska.edu or visit the Seawolf Food Pantry website.

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