Every year there are students all over campus struggling with financialical issues. When dealing with so many different expenses, something as important as grocery shopping may become a complex task. For those students who are having a hard time affording food, there is a solution.
The Student Support Foundation is a student-led organization that witholds the Food Pantry located in the backside of the Bagley House. The mission of the Student Support Foundation is, “Keeping students in school through short term emergency assistance and long term student support, as well as creating a culture of philanthropy on our campus.”
The Food Pantry is open on Tuesdays from 2:00-3:00pm and again from 4:00-6:00pm, as well as, Fridays 11:00am – 3:00pm. Fridays before a vacation or a long weekend are scheduled by appointment only. The Food Pantry is open in the fall and spring semester, excluding finals week.
To be eligible, you must be an undergraduate or graduate student currently enrolled at Plymouth State. Upon going to the pantry for the first time during the semester, students will need to bring a hard copy of their Enrollment Verification which can be printed from MyPlymouth, as well as a student ID. Each student is allowed to go to the pantry twice a month (4 times in one semester).
James McManus is a volunteer for the Food Pantry and is very happy to be helping out his fellow students. McManus stated, “I have been working here since last spring and not as many students know about this as you would think. Usually I will see about one to two people a week, but people must have just started talking about it because last week there was around 8 and this week has been busy as well.”
All of the food given to the pantry is donated by organizations around town, from students, and mainly from the school itself. When arriving to the pantry, the person operating the pantry that day will tell students a list of how much food they can take.
Foods include a number of canned fruits, vegetables, soups, and beans, as well as pasta and rice. Cereal, milk, eggs, bread and different meats like chicken and beef are also available. Once the food has been selected there is an area where students are allowed to take a few toiletries that can include toilet paper, toothpaste, and more.
Every visit made to the Food Pantry is kept confidential. One student, who wanted to remain anonymous said, “The Food Pantry has helped me so much this year, I don’t know what I would do without it. Paying for college on my own has been really hard and getting help where I can means the world.”
If you or anyone you know is struggling to find food please contact the student.support.foundatoin@plymouth.edu or visit the Bagley House.