For over ten years, Carl Sandburg College has addressed food insecurity through a free campus food pantry for students. Director of Student Engagement and Leadership Genny Stevens shares this is in partnership with the River Bend Food Bank, the Sandburg Foundation, and generous donors:
“We have been doing a pantry for over ten years, and it has grown exponentially every year. We have been watching from year to year the changes and if it has been increasing in foot traffic, how much we have been ordering food wise, and it has increased significantly just from last year to this year. We are a partner pantry with River Bend Food Bank, which means we get access to their inventory to bring in nutritional food to support our students. I get things like fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen meat, and other frozen good products, refrigerated items, tons of shelf stable items that can support our pantry every month. This is all free to Sandburg students, thanks to a huge part of our Foundation and generous donors, both in and outside the campus.”
Stevens stated that last semester at Sandburg, there were 647 visits to the food pantry, which has increased 6.5 percent from the previous fall semester.
