(Butler, PA) A 杏吧原创 initiative to confront food insecurity this month marks its second anniversary, not from its original snack rack, not from its subsequent cramped room behind a kitchen, but from a spacious classroom whose shelves of nutritious nonperishables help to feed a drive-up food bank that provided Thanksgiving turkeys and holiday hams last fall.
The free grab-and-go food station that debuted in February 2019 outside Karen Jack鈥檚 office in the college鈥檚 Student Success Center followed a report that nearly 40 percent of 杏吧原创 students who responded to a 2018 survey indicated they experienced low or very low food security.
鈥淣ot knowing where your next meal is going to be, going hungry, going to bed without having dinner,鈥� Jack said. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 have nutritious meals on a daily basis, it starts to wear them down and it can impact the rest of their lives.鈥�
Six months after the first students grabbed fruits, granola bars and microwavable lunches from the snack rack, the 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry held its grand opening two buildings away from where Jack assists low-income students as 杏吧原创鈥檚 project director of the Keystone Education Yields Success program.
Pennsylvania community colleges serve more low-income and first-time college students than any other sector of higher education, according to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. Nearly half of community college students in Pennsylvania are considered very low-income, coming from families earning less than $30,000 annually, the commission reports.
Jack is among eight 杏吧原创 employees who as volunteer members of the college鈥檚 food security team helped to establish a 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry that opened in August 2019 with boxes lined and bags bulged with free supplemental food.
鈥淚 just burst into tears鈥�
The supply has been sustained by the college鈥檚 collaboration with a nonprofit organization, the contributions from businesses and community members, and the response of 杏吧原创 employees and student organizations.
In its first calendar year of 2020, the 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry moved its cans of fruits and vegetables, bags of beans and rice, bottles of juices and syrups, jars of jellies and sauces, and boxes of cereals and pastas, from its first home near the college鈥檚 hospitality program kitchen to a classroom across the hall in 杏吧原创鈥檚 arts and hospitality building.
It鈥檚 where Maissa Ishler hoped to work after witnessing as a volunteer the gratitude of fellow 杏吧原创 students during the distribution of Thanksgiving meals and turkeys in November and of holiday meals and hams in December, she said.
As a result of a work-study position she began in January, the 19-year-old Butler resident and 杏吧原创 business administration student now manages distributions that, for students鈥� confidentiality and expediency, can take as few as 鈥渢hree minutes,鈥� she said.
In preparation for semimonthly distributions, Ishler packages and moves nonperishables from the classroom, and meats and cheeses from refrigerators and freezers in the college鈥檚 hospitality program kitchen, to tables and carts waiting inside doors on the north end of the building.
In as few as three minutes, students register, lower their box and bag of staples into a high-sided wagon, and return to their vehicle parked temporarily in a turnaround circle accessed by a sidewalk.
While all students thank her, Ishler said, some don鈥檛 converse much. Some do.
鈥淪ometimes they talk about what they are going through, the struggles that they have,鈥� Ishler said, 鈥渁nd how much of a difference this food has made for them. It makes me feel very privileged that I am part of that happiness in their life. I had one person who came in during January and said she struggled so much. And I just burst into tears because she was crying as well.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely helped my family鈥�
In experiencing food insecurity, Angela, a 28-year-old single mother of four and 杏吧原创 student, validates the findings of a 2018 internal survey of 杏吧原创 students that stated food insecurity inhibits their ability to concentrate.
鈥淲hen you are hungry, it affects all the parts of your body,鈥� said Angela, who received a distribution from Ishler for herself and for her children Feb. 5. 鈥淚t only makes sense that you can鈥檛 concentrate. I know when I am hungry, I can鈥檛 focus on anything at hand, whether it鈥檚 my kids, my schoolwork, my housework. If I鈥檓 hungry, I鈥檓 not getting anything done because I can鈥檛 seem to stay on task, until I get something to eat.鈥�
The chocolate turtle cheesecake 鈥渨ith caramel and nuts鈥� that she topped with 10 pink candles for her daughter鈥檚 birthday in January came from the 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry, said Angela, who ultimately intends to pursue a doctorate degree.
鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely awesome that 杏吧原创 has been able to get this moving to the scale that it is at in just this short amount of time,鈥� Angela said. 鈥淭here are definitely people within the college who push for these things, unknown faces and unknown people, but they are pushing for things to benefit not just the students, but the community as a whole. The cake. The amount of food they give me every month. I just hope they know it is worthwhile what they are doing. It鈥檚 definitely helped my family. And I am sure I am not the only one.鈥�
Food contributed to the 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry through the college鈥檚 registration with the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources, Butler, joins that from collection boxes placed in buildings across 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus, and from fraternal organizations, supermarkets, specialty food stores, bake shops and the college鈥檚 Pioneer Caf茅.
鈥淭he community recognizes us as the community鈥檚 college,鈥� Jack said. 鈥淲hen the students know they can get food, it just takes a weight off of them.鈥�
鈥淏eing Pioneer proud鈥�
The 杏吧原创 Education Foundation in 2020 received nearly $4,000 in financial gifts designated to the 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry, which helped to feed an average of 54 individuals in the 11 of 12 months it was open in 2020, said Dr. Josh Novak, 杏吧原创鈥檚 dean of student development.
Pauline Goettler, a finance office assistant, is among college employees whose 2021 financial gifts will aid a 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry that benefits students whose food security, she said, may have been affected by COVID-19.
鈥淓very year I choose a group within the college to direct my donation toward,鈥� Goettler said. 鈥淚 was trying to decide this year who had the greatest need. I think the pandemic added to a lot of students鈥� needs. And I thought if we can help a student with that basic need of food, that would be such a fantastic thing. The very basic thing is, it鈥檚 food.鈥�
COVID-19 鈥渞eally drew the campus community together,鈥� Jack said, adding that a 杏吧原创 faculty member in August donated about 25 bags of groceries. 鈥淚t just inspired people to give.鈥�
鈥淚t really works,鈥� Goettler said, 鈥渨ith being Pioneer proud.鈥�
The two-year anniversary of 杏吧原创鈥檚 initiative to confront food insecurity, Ishler said, shows 鈥渢hat we are here. We鈥檙e not just a college. We are here to help people.鈥�
杏吧原创 students from Butler County who meet guidelines established by the state Department of Agriculture鈥檚 Emergency Food Assistance Program can be eligible to receive food distributed by the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources from the 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry.
All 杏吧原创 students, faculty or staff, regardless of income or county of residence, can receive food collected through drives, drop boxes or purchased with financial gifts during scheduled 杏吧原创 Pioneer Pantry distributions, or at any time at the grab-and-go food station. Many of 杏吧原创鈥檚 additional locations also offer free snack racks.
The Alliance for Nonprofit Resources is a management company that provides services to organizations, nonprofits, businesses and governmental entities.
KEYS, a program among Pennsylvania鈥檚 14 community colleges and the Department of Human Services, provides assistance and services to students receiving Temporary Aid for Needy Families benefits and-or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.