UVU Food Pantry dedicated to helping students
UVU is helping their student community with food insecurity by providing resources.
Students have access to the C.A.R.E. Hub whose mission is “to remove barriers and create a place of belonging for all wolverines.” They help with basic needs, food and housing insecurities. Enrolled students, staff and faculty can use the Food Pantry once a week if they need.
Kinsey Oldroyd is the program manager of the Food Pantry in the C.A.R.E. Hub and was able to answer some questions for The Review.
The pantry has a partnership with Community Action Services and Food Bank. Students can work with the pantry to figure out their needs, and those needs can be ordered at the UVU Food Pantry.
“Sometimes we also purchase food for the pantry that the food bank cannot consistently provide us, including allergy-friendly foods and multicultural foods. Our fridges and freezer are often filled with fresh produce grown on campus from the GRIT Garden and fruit that is gleaned from local fruit trees as part of our Gleaning Program,” Oldroyd said.
The Food Pantry on campus doesn’t accept donations, and they ask if people would like to help that the items are donated to Community Action located in Provo. Students can also sign up to volunteer in the C.A.R.E. Hub. The most common items that are needed are “hygiene items, cleaning equipment, allergy-friendly foods, multicultural foods, food storage, Tupperware, spices, diapers, formula, baby food and more.”
Oldroyd also said, “The UVU pantry is not just for students facing immediate food insecurity. Food insecurity looks different for everyone and isn’t always a chronic thing. Often students don’t utilize the pantry because they think they do not qualify or are ‘In Need’ enough. One example I like to share with students: if you need to pay to fix your car or pay for groceries, pay for your car and let us help you with groceries this week.”
The pantry came on The UVU Review podcast to talk about what they do. To learn more about UVU C.A.R.E., follow them on Instagram. They have news about their organization, free food on campus and many other great resources.
