New to the University of Massachusetts community this year, the Campus Pantry has been a life changing addition to the resources that the university provides. While being a student is already a huge time commitment, many have to also balance work into their schedule in order to pay for necessities such as rent, health assistance, and, of course, groceries. However, the cost of living rises each year, especially in an area like
Amherst where businesses and landlords know that young adults are in desperate need.
In order to tackle food insecurity within higher education institutions, the UMass administration, in collaboration with local non-profit Amherst Survival Center, officially opened the pantry in September this year and has been of great success so far. Its doors are across the parking lot from Mahar Auditorium, sharing a building with the Outing Club Gear Locker, corner of Massachusetts Ave. and North Pleasant St. It’s open for
anyone associated with UMass to use–undergrads, graduate students, faculty, or staff.
How do you begin? Well, there are a few steps for how to “shop” at the pantry. Before you step in the first time, you need to register yourself within their system. There is a quick sign up process–they ask for your personal information, address, household income, and to list all the members of your household. The pantry expects to help support non-UMass affiliated household members, but if, say, your roommate is another student like you, they can also register with the pantry themselves. Based on this information, you will be given a number of points that you can use each month at the pantry. Food items within the pantry are based on volume and availability.
You’re permitted to go to the Campus Pantry once a week during their open hours. The hours are walk-in, but it’s advised that you schedule a thirty-minute appointment if you want to be able to check out faster. Inside, the layout was designed specifically to look and feel like a real grocery store, as opposed to a “handout line” or store room. The aisles are stocked with products like what you would find at Big Y, Aldi’s, or Stop and Shop. The pantry is also almost entirely volunteer-run with support from Amherst Survival Center staff. The workers are very kind, understanding, and incredibly helpful. If you’re interested in signing up for volunteering, they have an easy google form to fill out on the website.
While I don’t go too often because I live in the dorms, every time I’ve visited the staff has made it an incredibly easy experience. My friends who’ve recently moved off-campus, as well as those who lived in apartments last year, have expressed how helpful it’s been. Being a college student is also stressful enough, as Jake Kraine, the Food Pantry Manager put it, “No one should have to choose between their academic
success and being hungry.”
