Chippewa Valley Times

Students, faculty, and staff celebrated Campus Harvest’s 10-year anniversary on August 27 with an open house at its new location in Room 103 of Davies Center. The pantry relocated from Brewer Hall over the summer.

“Students are going to see us now, so the awareness is going to go up,” said Dr. Sarah Snyder, student assistance manager and Campus Harvest coordinator.

A spring 2024 survey indicated that more than 47% of Blugolds experience some level of food insecurity, and pantry usage continues to grow. Campus Harvest served 861 individual students in 2023, up from 432 in 2022.

“Our students are hungry,” Snyder stated. “We are proud to be able to provide such a needed resource to our students.”

Chancellor James Schmidt also attended the celebration. He remarked that Campus Harvest Food Pantry is a program “close to my heart.” Schmidt recalled his upbringing in rural Minnesota within a family of modest means that included subsidized housing and food stamps.

“People, with the economy and situations, can find themselves in positions where they just need help,” Schmidt noted. “Certainly, college students are in that population.”

Schmidt described the Davies Center location as “prime real estate” that can showcase an important resource for students needing basic necessities.

“I talked to students who said they felt shameful being tucked in the corner of Brewer Hall,” Schmidt commented regarding the former pantry location.

The food pantry also serves as an educational resource each semester for students who volunteer to complete their service-learning hours. Some classes visit the pantry to learn about food insecurity.

For information about supporting the food pantry, visit the Campus Harvest webpage.

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