Status update: November 2, 2022
Each year, the Campus Food Bank has depended upon our annual Trick or trEAT food drive to feed students until the end of December, at least. This year, with the rate we are distributing food, we’ll be surprised if our successful food drive lasts until the end of this month.
We are very grateful for the attention the Campus Food Bank and its clients are receiving through media coverage and campus conversations. To be very clear, though, the Campus Food Bank is in no danger of closing. We are pursuing a diversity of opportunities to fund our programming, and community support in this busy fall season has been incredible.
We provide this second fall status update to share ongoing demand statistics for the semester so that our supporters can share our story. If you have any questions about this information, please get in touch.
October 2022
Usage update
We distributed 635 hampers to 999 individuals in September 2022. More than 75% of these clients were new to us.
We distributed 693 hampers to 1191 individuals in October 2022. Only 25% of these clients were new to us.
We gave our 185 hampers during the first week in October. Our previous output records are:
120 hampers in one week in March 2022
130 hampers in one week in July 2022
182 hampers Sept 12-16, 2022
We will soon be publishing a report on our Sept 2022 client survey.
Looking ahead
The Campus Food Bank is making changes to address this concerning uptick in demand.
We officially switch from grocery hampers to self-serve grocery model on Monday, November 7. You can read about this transition on our blog.
We are working with Community Service Learning students this semester to find locations for a network of snack stations to provide students with a quick bite closer to their classes.
We are working with the Industrial Design program to imagine how a 24/7 food pantry could be built on North Campus this spring.
We are actively working with our student volunteer committees to explore our options for learning about advocacy and to plan campaigns to improve food security in our community. If you are interested in participating, get in touch!
What can you do to help?
Make a donation directly on our website or by bringing items to our office.
Volunteer recruitment for Winter 2023 semester will begin soon!
To conclude, please join us in thanking the 100+ volunteers who make the food bank work. They are incredible and there is no way to properly thank them, but we will be feeding them pizza over reading week!
Thank you everyone for your support of the Campus Food Bank.
Until next update,
The Campus Food Bank team
Bukky, Caitlin, Erin, and Madi
