Clark is the student service coordinator for The Pantry, the food bank available to FRCC Westminster Campus students. Anyone carrying a class load of one credit or higher at FRCC and doesn’t know how they’ll get their next meal can use The Pantry to get food.
“We want to build awareness,” Clark said while making life-size cutouts for one of his displays, adding, “We want to build compassion.”
To access The Pantry in person and receive immediate food assistance, simply visit the office of Student Life, C0560, and let the person at the desk know you need The Pantry’s services. An authorized representative will check your current class load to ensure you are carrying one credit hour or more. Then, if The Pantry is unoccupied when you visit, you can go in and collect food without delay. Clark and his cohort have measures in place to ensure student privacy.
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion is a federal agency managed by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It defines food insecurity as “the disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of lack of money and other resources.”
Student Life Director Mindy Kinnaman writes grants to make regular purchases for The Pantry from Food Bank of the Rockies. Those purchases provide the means for The Pantry to receive donations three times each week from five Starbucks stores in the vicinity of the Westminster Campus.
Starbucks sandwiches and fresh meal packs often fill The Pantry’s refrigerator and freezer. During National Hunger Awareness Week, supplies were running moderately low, Clark observed. This semester, student visits have doubled to 32 per week from the average of 16 visits in previous semesters, he said.
“To date, The Pantry has given out nearly 10,000 pounds of food,” Clark stated in an email. “Each week students are receiving a little over 200 pounds of food from The Pantry.”
Available items include the sandwiches and fresh lunch packs from Starbucks, plus items donated in three collection boxes in the Student Life Office, along with items purchased from Food Bank of the Rockies. Those staples include grains, cereals, canned fruits and vegetables, dairy, proteins, boxed meals, fats and oils, sauces and spices, snacks, sweets, coffees and teas, and personal care items.
In addition to requesting help in person, students also can apply for assistance from The Pantry on the Front Range website by clicking here. Students applying for food assistance online usually receive help within one to two business days, Kinnaman said.
If you wish to donate to The Pantry, simply bring your home’s excess non-perishable food items to the Office of Student Life and deposit them in one of the three available collection boxes.
