Thursday, July 23, 2026

College Food Banks

 Universities and food banks usually don't go together but they do. There are hundreds of students and their families that are food insecure. They need fresh produce as well as nutritious basics to thrive in a school situation of intense classes and coursework.LUckily this is where their schools fi  in offering all sorts of  necessities for a healthy collegiate life.

What's in a college food bank ro pantry? The same that's in a regular food pantry. At Fairleigh Dickinson's Teaneck -Hackensack campus the food pantry is the size of a small convenience store. It's called the Knight's (after the school mascot) Pantry, located n  topfo the cafeteria and next to the campus bookstore.It offered easy meals  like Ramen and Hot pockets to make at the Student Union Building (r any dorm with a small microwave) There are also containers of Mac and cheese as well as canned soups.There are important foods such as cereal,granola bars and crackers. Sometimes there are apples and bananas a,especially in the fall when the students go back. This is open for both dor students and commuter ones. Commuter students can bring home some basics for their families too. The school's Madison New Jersey campus has their own pantry The Devils Care. Both have an Amazon wish list   which includes kitchen items like oven mitts and spaulas, ,OTC medications and such basics as hot cocoa mix, instant soups and boxes of pasta.

Other schools have this too. Rutgers has a similarly named Knights Pantry along with a mobile pantry. They too have the basics. Unlike FDU RUtgers offers such dairy products as milk and yogurt along with meats and produce They also offer baby products like wipes and diapers for those students who have little ones. They take both monetary donations as well as actual ones. F you are an alumna of any of these schools then donate There are so many students coming from finance challenged households  (Rutgers ,Newark campus has one in four students who  face food insecurity) Kids simply cant afford decent meals . These help them combat hunger .A well fed student is one that doesn't have concentration problems and can focus better without hunger gnawing at them. Donating to a school's library or garden is nice Donating to their students' food pantry is infinitely better. Campuses themselves can also chip in. Many have enough land to create gardens such as Montclair College in Montclair ,New Jersey where one thousand square feet is dedicated to growing veggies and fruit. The harvests are then donated to the school's food pantry, Red Hawk Pantry.

If you want to do good by your alma mater, then donated to your school's food pantry. The next generation of students will appreciate this. Give to the school that gave you your education

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