By Elena Pejic
Boston University News Service
With the holiday season approaching and the uncertainty surrounding SNAP benefits, the BU Food Pantry has been a resource for students to find not only nutritious meals but also a supportive community.
Operated by BU’s Student Wellbeing initiative, the pantry is stocked with a variety of food that students can easily access by placing an order on the Student Wellbeing website.
“We have grains, vegetables, we even have potatoes, as well as mac and cheese and pasta, just a wide variety of items that students can choose from, and all they have to do is just place their order,” said Kaylin Torres, a program assistant for the pantry.
Students can place an online order once a week and pick it up at the pantry’s location at 930 Commonwealth Ave. Any BU student can place an order — regardless of if they qualify for SNAP benefits or not.
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the largest food assistance program in the United States that provides monthly funding for low-income families to purchase groceries. The most recent government shutdown jeopardized this program as the federal government temporarily cut SNAP benefits for many families and students. In Massachusetts, SNAP benefits were not fully funded for recipients until Nov. 14.
Since then, the BU Food Pantry has been taking steps to help students facing food insecurity. Food pantry employee Zoe Solberg said the pantry’s leadership released messages to BU students when benefits were cut.
“They’ve also been starting a new survey to understand students’ experiences with food insecurity and financial insecurity,” said Solberg. “We’ve really been increasing our food drives to kind of account for that.”
“We know our students may be impacted by the suspension of SNAP benefits,” a caption from a post on the Student Wellbeing’s Instagram account reads. “Please remember there are resources here at BU and in the community that you can rely on.”
Even with the reimplementation of SNAP benefits, Solberg said the BU food pantry is a lasting resource for students.
“We’re always here. We’re always a resource,” said Solberg.
The pantry also welcomes individual and group donations, but a large portion of their resources comes from food drives hosted with other BU clubs and organizations.
Food drives are held at BU hockey games, where guests can donate food items in exchange for entry into a raffle. BU clubs and organizations can also partner with the pantry to participate in a food drive.
“We’ve been having food drives at the hockey game so people who are attending the game can come and they can drop off food to be entered in a raffle,” said Solberg. “That’s been really helpful. We just unpacked a lot of the food from our previous game today.”
Solberg said these food drives have been “really helpful” for the pantry and that she urges students to get involved.
Solberg added that students can help the pantry even further by becoming a Wellbeing Champion: students that act as brand ambassadors to their respective social and academic communities on campus, reporting new ideas and initiatives back to senior staff at Student Wellbeing.
“These are ways that you can help volunteer at different food pantry events and also other student well-being events that are tailored more towards mental health and physical well-being,” said Solberg.
For the holiday season, Student Wellbeing is hosting a Thanksgiving meal for BU students who are staying on campus for the break.
Executive Director of Student Wellbeing Carrie Landa said the meal is meant to foster community and gratitude among students during the holiday season.
“It’s our hope that all BU students who remain in Boston for the Thanksgiving Break will join us at this all-university community meal,” said Landa in an announcement on the Student Wellbeing’s website. “This event is a unique and wonderful opportunity to come together, relax around a table with friends, and pause to express gratitude.
The event is on Nov. 27 at Marciano Commons, and students can register online by Nov. 24 to reserve a seat.
Despite recent threats to food stability, the BU Food Pantry continues to emphasize the effect food insecurity can have on both physical and mental health, and plans to expand its operations in the future.
“We’re really trying to help students with food insecurity and helping them as quick as possible and as efficient as possible,” said Torres.
