Student Food Insecurity Prompts Opening of First University of Wisconsin -- Milwaukee Food Pantry
By Erik S. Hanley
The UCM Food Pantry, stocked with non-perishables.
A wobbly folding table sat inside the entrance to University Christian Ministries on the UW-Milwaukee campus. The table was covered with food, but a disclaimer typed on printer paper hung above: “If you choose to try them, please understand you choose to do so at your own risk.” Everything from McCann's Irish Oatmeal, to Jell-O mix, and cans of soup were stamped with expired dates from 2012. These items were free for the taking for any students; one student in particular took advantage.
Senior Natasha Waldron stood in front of the table with an orange Halloween grocery bag and started to fill it with the food from the table. Throwing in cans of soup and boxed dinners, she says she can combine this and that into a good meal. “I’m on a two dollar a day food plan, I really need this,” she said as she stuffed in more food.
Waldron said losing hours in her job as a nanny as well as normal college expenses -- such as rent and gas -- contributed to her low cash flow. She said about two dollars a day was left for food.
“I think that the food pantry would really help more for people like myself that are in bad financial situations, especially having to go to school and work a part time job,” she said and then lightheartedly added, “I don’t require a lot of food because I’m smaller, so that’s a good thing.”
Waldron is one of many college students who deal with hunger issues on college campuses due to the high cost of both food and tuition. She interns at UCM, a Christian organization on campus that is known for its weekly free lunch program called Lunch Bunch. Now, UCM is expanding its food options for students and faculty.
UCM unofficially opened its food pantry -- called "The Offering" -- on November 28, 2012 for anyone with a UWM ID -- both students and staff. Campus Minister Reverend Alan McCalister announced that it would be running on Thursdays at 11am by appointment only for the remainder of the fall semester. He added that while Feeding America -- a group UCM was working to partner with -- probably won't be supplying food until next semester, UCM had enough from a Halloween food drive they held in October to start offering assistance to the UWM community.
According to McCalister, UCM is joining a growing movement of food pantries springing up on college campuses. He said that economic issues are starting to affect college students and their ability to get regular meals. UWM’s Dean of Students office had referred more students to UCM for food assistance than in past years. It was this increase, which prompted UCM’s board to distribute a food survey. “It became an awareness for us that there was an issue of food insecurity on campus,” said McCalister.
Last spring, McCalister conducted a survey of 115 students attending the weekly Lunch Bunch and found that 18% of them had gone without food for at least one day. Most students in the survey -- approximately half -- listed money as their largest problem. Another challenge was not having time for sit-down meals.
Interim Dean of Students Tom McGinnity works to help students with a variety of issues, one of which is hunger. He mentioned that the Dean’s Office is working on a broader survey to assess specific numbers for the whole campus’ need.
“Just from meeting with students we’ve seen more issues of things like, you know, student loses their apartment and they become homeless, or they’re really in financial crisis where they need emergency loans and stuff,” said McGinnity. “So, I think we’re seeing an increase [in hunger] but until we do the survey it’s really hard to say for sure.”
Former UWM student Tiffany Swiech attended one of UCM’s Lunch Bunch events in October at the suggestion of a friend. Swiech said it's been a struggle to afford food due to living off of government assistance -- she cannot work due to a disability. She said the pantry is a good idea for students who need the help. “The last few months have been really hard,” Swiech said. “[When you’re] living off government assistance you can get kinda hungry.”
Senior Natasha Waldron stood in front of the table with an orange Halloween grocery bag and started to fill it with the food from the table. Throwing in cans of soup and boxed dinners, she says she can combine this and that into a good meal. “I’m on a two dollar a day food plan, I really need this,” she said as she stuffed in more food.
Waldron said losing hours in her job as a nanny as well as normal college expenses -- such as rent and gas -- contributed to her low cash flow. She said about two dollars a day was left for food.
“I think that the food pantry would really help more for people like myself that are in bad financial situations, especially having to go to school and work a part time job,” she said and then lightheartedly added, “I don’t require a lot of food because I’m smaller, so that’s a good thing.”
Waldron is one of many college students who deal with hunger issues on college campuses due to the high cost of both food and tuition. She interns at UCM, a Christian organization on campus that is known for its weekly free lunch program called Lunch Bunch. Now, UCM is expanding its food options for students and faculty.
UCM unofficially opened its food pantry -- called "The Offering" -- on November 28, 2012 for anyone with a UWM ID -- both students and staff. Campus Minister Reverend Alan McCalister announced that it would be running on Thursdays at 11am by appointment only for the remainder of the fall semester. He added that while Feeding America -- a group UCM was working to partner with -- probably won't be supplying food until next semester, UCM had enough from a Halloween food drive they held in October to start offering assistance to the UWM community.
According to McCalister, UCM is joining a growing movement of food pantries springing up on college campuses. He said that economic issues are starting to affect college students and their ability to get regular meals. UWM’s Dean of Students office had referred more students to UCM for food assistance than in past years. It was this increase, which prompted UCM’s board to distribute a food survey. “It became an awareness for us that there was an issue of food insecurity on campus,” said McCalister.
Last spring, McCalister conducted a survey of 115 students attending the weekly Lunch Bunch and found that 18% of them had gone without food for at least one day. Most students in the survey -- approximately half -- listed money as their largest problem. Another challenge was not having time for sit-down meals.
Interim Dean of Students Tom McGinnity works to help students with a variety of issues, one of which is hunger. He mentioned that the Dean’s Office is working on a broader survey to assess specific numbers for the whole campus’ need.
“Just from meeting with students we’ve seen more issues of things like, you know, student loses their apartment and they become homeless, or they’re really in financial crisis where they need emergency loans and stuff,” said McGinnity. “So, I think we’re seeing an increase [in hunger] but until we do the survey it’s really hard to say for sure.”
Former UWM student Tiffany Swiech attended one of UCM’s Lunch Bunch events in October at the suggestion of a friend. Swiech said it's been a struggle to afford food due to living off of government assistance -- she cannot work due to a disability. She said the pantry is a good idea for students who need the help. “The last few months have been really hard,” Swiech said. “[When you’re] living off government assistance you can get kinda hungry.”
Getting the Idea Going
Heading down to the pantry.
Stephen Swigart, the co-chair of the board of directors for UCM said he was surprised at the results of the survey. Swigart came up with the idea and began the food pantry project.
“Let’s write it off to divine inspiration,” he said.
“I have concerns broader than just the student body that comes here for lunch bunch,” Swigart said. “I also think there’s a whole graduate population here that maybe young people with families that are getting the normal TA salaries that are inadequate in most cases to try and support a family and housing.”
Once the idea was formulated, UCM needed a location. The basement of the UCM building at 2211 East Kenwood Boulevard was chosen and cleaning began. Walking down the corkscrew staircase feels like entering into a time long past. The pantry is tucked neatly away down a short hall in the basement surrounded by white brick. Former intern Matthew Reher helped McCalister install the freezer, refrigerator, and build shelves for the pantry in the newly cleared and scrubbed area of the basement.
Partnerships were the next step. The Dean of Students office will be referring students to the pantry once it’s running. McGinnity said the Assistant Dean Becky Freer meets with students as well and sometimes may send them to the UCM Lunch Bunch event. He said the Dean’s Office also now has specific referral forms that have been distributed to various places on campus, such as the Norris Health Center and Financial Aid office, where a student can take the form to UCM and get food through an appointment.
Two partnerships with Wisconsin organizations tackling hunger eventually surfaced: Food for Thought and Feeding America. Food for Thought supplied UCM with information on starting and running a pantry. Feeding America will help supply food to the pantry at reduced costs next semester. Swigart says that UCM can purchase food staples at 19 cents per pound; produce and bread are generally free. UCM also sent letters to area churches asking for donations of food or to take a collection of money for the purchase of food.
“The challenge is to find the right mix of food products,” said Swigart.
The survey from spring 2012 showed students did not have much cooking knowledge and therefore only a narrow range of food products would be useful.
“Students don’t cook, they don’t know how,” said Swigart. “They usually have the facilities but don’t have the knowledge. We’ll live in a microwave world for a while most likely [at the pantry].” Swigart said UCM might offer cooking classes at a later date. “It’s something that sounds like fun to explore in the future,” he said.
Lunch Bunch coordinator and UCM Administrative Assistant Sarah Marten also helped with the pantry. She wrote up a list for students and faculty to check off what food they need, within listed limits.
Traditionally, the Dean’s Office would refer students to two programs: One was the “211 System” run by a group called “Impact” which helps with food, housing and financial services in Milwaukee. McGinnity said that all someone need do is call 211 on their phone and they get referred to the appropriate agencies. He said that most of the 211 services are located downtown or in north-central Milwaukee so for the students that need something it’s sometimes a long trip.
The other program would be a financial aid referral where the financial aid office can determine if something changed in their situation to see if they qualify for extra funds, according to McGinnity. He said that a high percentage of students at UWM are on financial aid, but that it’s not always enough.
“Let’s write it off to divine inspiration,” he said.
“I have concerns broader than just the student body that comes here for lunch bunch,” Swigart said. “I also think there’s a whole graduate population here that maybe young people with families that are getting the normal TA salaries that are inadequate in most cases to try and support a family and housing.”
Once the idea was formulated, UCM needed a location. The basement of the UCM building at 2211 East Kenwood Boulevard was chosen and cleaning began. Walking down the corkscrew staircase feels like entering into a time long past. The pantry is tucked neatly away down a short hall in the basement surrounded by white brick. Former intern Matthew Reher helped McCalister install the freezer, refrigerator, and build shelves for the pantry in the newly cleared and scrubbed area of the basement.
Partnerships were the next step. The Dean of Students office will be referring students to the pantry once it’s running. McGinnity said the Assistant Dean Becky Freer meets with students as well and sometimes may send them to the UCM Lunch Bunch event. He said the Dean’s Office also now has specific referral forms that have been distributed to various places on campus, such as the Norris Health Center and Financial Aid office, where a student can take the form to UCM and get food through an appointment.
Two partnerships with Wisconsin organizations tackling hunger eventually surfaced: Food for Thought and Feeding America. Food for Thought supplied UCM with information on starting and running a pantry. Feeding America will help supply food to the pantry at reduced costs next semester. Swigart says that UCM can purchase food staples at 19 cents per pound; produce and bread are generally free. UCM also sent letters to area churches asking for donations of food or to take a collection of money for the purchase of food.
“The challenge is to find the right mix of food products,” said Swigart.
The survey from spring 2012 showed students did not have much cooking knowledge and therefore only a narrow range of food products would be useful.
“Students don’t cook, they don’t know how,” said Swigart. “They usually have the facilities but don’t have the knowledge. We’ll live in a microwave world for a while most likely [at the pantry].” Swigart said UCM might offer cooking classes at a later date. “It’s something that sounds like fun to explore in the future,” he said.
Lunch Bunch coordinator and UCM Administrative Assistant Sarah Marten also helped with the pantry. She wrote up a list for students and faculty to check off what food they need, within listed limits.
Traditionally, the Dean’s Office would refer students to two programs: One was the “211 System” run by a group called “Impact” which helps with food, housing and financial services in Milwaukee. McGinnity said that all someone need do is call 211 on their phone and they get referred to the appropriate agencies. He said that most of the 211 services are located downtown or in north-central Milwaukee so for the students that need something it’s sometimes a long trip.
The other program would be a financial aid referral where the financial aid office can determine if something changed in their situation to see if they qualify for extra funds, according to McGinnity. He said that a high percentage of students at UWM are on financial aid, but that it’s not always enough.
Getting the First Food
UCM Administrative Assistant Sarah Marten tying bags to doors.
Over Halloween UCM held a food drive in Shorewood. On Friday, October 26, a cool fall day, three interns and two volunteers ventured down the streets assigned by UCM intern Natasha Waldron. They tied orange bags to door handles with notes written by another UCM intern, Sara Anne Vande Vrede, describing UCM’s plans to start a pantry and asking for donations. Almost 700 bags were passed out over the course of a three-hour event.
Eileen Newsome and her friend Kenzie Kujawski were two volunteers who helped out the interns. Newsome is a regular at Lunch Bunch and recently became an intern at UCM. Kujawski is a native of Steven’s Point and came down after Newsome asked her to help out.
On Halloween, Marten dressed as a cupcake, Reher as a cowboy, and other uniquely outfitted students ventured out, driven by the grim reaper in the form of Reverend McCalister, to retrieve the bags filled with food from people’s doorsteps. Countless bags were retrieved filling two car trunks. The food -- which included some unique delicacies such as a can of snails -- was sorted the following week and placed on pantry shelves.
Challenges and Criteria for the Pantry
Refrigeration, security, and signage were among Feeding America’s criteria for the new pantry to get its stamp of approval. After a few struggles and all the preparation was complete, Feeding America representative Denise Joshua examined the pantry on December 4, giving it a good review.
Another order of business was figuring out who will help run the pantry. “We’re looking heavily for students to help,” said McCalister. Intern volunteers and some students from the Center for Volunteerism and Student Leadership at UWM were all in talks to help run the pantry. The UCM interns were the only ones running it this semester, but McCalister said he's still looking for more volunteers for spring.
Lunch Bunch Link
UCM’s Lunch Bunch event started about 15 years ago as a “Hot Dog Days” event when University Christian Ministries was formerly United Ministry of Higher Education -- Milwaukee. Eventually that expanded into the current offering where 16-17 churches take turns serving food to about 100 UWM students and staff from noon to 1:30pm every Wednesday. Joshua also mentioned the possibility of Feeding America supplying food for Lunch Bunch.
Swigart and McCalister had different expectations for those initially taking advantage of the pantry. Swigart expected to serve about 25 students monthly while McCalister’s estimate was 100, which he attributed to the increase in those attending Lunch Bunch. Joshua anticipated possibly around 400 eventually using the pantry once it's more established.
Two Other Christian Organizations that Deal with Hunger
There are other Christian organizations on campus that deal with hunger issues. One is The Point of Grace, which held an evening event with a free meal on October 16.
The Corner House is another organization that, like UCM deals with student hunger weekly. Corner House representative Samuel Johnson said that on Wednesday mornings from 10:00am until noon The Corner House interns are out on their front patio (weather permitting) where they serve free coffee and pancakes to students on their way to and from class. In cold weather, they move indoors but still offer the food and Christian fellowship.
Praise for the Pantry
“UCM needs to look at opportunities to do outreach in any way that it can,” said Swigart. “I think that to some extent we can be a service organization and the pantry will give us a better opportunity to sort of define that service and outreach to meeting a specific need on campus.”
“I’m excited that it’s going to work, it’ll be a good partnership,” said McGinnity. “I do know that Michigan State and a few other universities have tried this and it’s very successful and so I’m hoping that it’ll be successful here too.”
_______
***UPDATE: Since the publication of this article in December 2012, the Feeding America partnership has been established for both the food pantry and Lunch Bunch. Also, The Point of Grace building has been sold to another Christian organization (Cornerstone Campus Ministries), therefore it is unknown if there will be future food offerings at that location.
Eileen Newsome and her friend Kenzie Kujawski were two volunteers who helped out the interns. Newsome is a regular at Lunch Bunch and recently became an intern at UCM. Kujawski is a native of Steven’s Point and came down after Newsome asked her to help out.
On Halloween, Marten dressed as a cupcake, Reher as a cowboy, and other uniquely outfitted students ventured out, driven by the grim reaper in the form of Reverend McCalister, to retrieve the bags filled with food from people’s doorsteps. Countless bags were retrieved filling two car trunks. The food -- which included some unique delicacies such as a can of snails -- was sorted the following week and placed on pantry shelves.
Challenges and Criteria for the Pantry
Refrigeration, security, and signage were among Feeding America’s criteria for the new pantry to get its stamp of approval. After a few struggles and all the preparation was complete, Feeding America representative Denise Joshua examined the pantry on December 4, giving it a good review.
Another order of business was figuring out who will help run the pantry. “We’re looking heavily for students to help,” said McCalister. Intern volunteers and some students from the Center for Volunteerism and Student Leadership at UWM were all in talks to help run the pantry. The UCM interns were the only ones running it this semester, but McCalister said he's still looking for more volunteers for spring.
Lunch Bunch Link
UCM’s Lunch Bunch event started about 15 years ago as a “Hot Dog Days” event when University Christian Ministries was formerly United Ministry of Higher Education -- Milwaukee. Eventually that expanded into the current offering where 16-17 churches take turns serving food to about 100 UWM students and staff from noon to 1:30pm every Wednesday. Joshua also mentioned the possibility of Feeding America supplying food for Lunch Bunch.
Swigart and McCalister had different expectations for those initially taking advantage of the pantry. Swigart expected to serve about 25 students monthly while McCalister’s estimate was 100, which he attributed to the increase in those attending Lunch Bunch. Joshua anticipated possibly around 400 eventually using the pantry once it's more established.
Two Other Christian Organizations that Deal with Hunger
There are other Christian organizations on campus that deal with hunger issues. One is The Point of Grace, which held an evening event with a free meal on October 16.
The Corner House is another organization that, like UCM deals with student hunger weekly. Corner House representative Samuel Johnson said that on Wednesday mornings from 10:00am until noon The Corner House interns are out on their front patio (weather permitting) where they serve free coffee and pancakes to students on their way to and from class. In cold weather, they move indoors but still offer the food and Christian fellowship.
Praise for the Pantry
“UCM needs to look at opportunities to do outreach in any way that it can,” said Swigart. “I think that to some extent we can be a service organization and the pantry will give us a better opportunity to sort of define that service and outreach to meeting a specific need on campus.”
“I’m excited that it’s going to work, it’ll be a good partnership,” said McGinnity. “I do know that Michigan State and a few other universities have tried this and it’s very successful and so I’m hoping that it’ll be successful here too.”
_______
***UPDATE: Since the publication of this article in December 2012, the Feeding America partnership has been established for both the food pantry and Lunch Bunch. Also, The Point of Grace building has been sold to another Christian organization (Cornerstone Campus Ministries), therefore it is unknown if there will be future food offerings at that location.