University of Maryland, College Park
IN-14: Food Bank

The UMD Campus Pantry provides emergency food to students, faculty, and staff in need. During the Fall 2021 semester the Pantry served over 700 students per month. Since opening in 2014, the Pantry has served over 24,000 visitors and provided more than 60 students with employment. The vision of the UMD Campus Pantry is a hunger-free UMD, where all students, faculty and staff have reliable access to an adequate supply of affordable, safe and nutritious food. To realize this vision, the UMD Campus Pantry partners with students, staff, faculty, alum, and non-profit partners to coordinate the Coalition for Terps Essential Needs and the Hunger-Free UMD Workgroup.

In 2017-2018, the Campus Pantry partnered with the UMD Counseling Center’s Research Unit in support of the Food Access and Student Well-Being Study which found that of the 4,901 UMD undergraduate and graduate students surveyed (12% of total enrollment), 20% of UMD students are food insecure and an additional 21% of UMD students are at-risk of food insecurity. The UMD Campus Pantry continues to facilitate dozens of student research projects focused on alleviating food insecurity, hunger and poverty among students.

In July 2021, the Pantry relocated to a new, permanent facility which includes refrigeration and freezer space for fresh and frozen foods, an expanded storage space, a resource room, and a teaching kitchen. Not only does this updated Pantry space help feed even more hungry or food insecure students, it also serves to raise awareness around hunger issues, especially as experienced by low-income college students. Since its founding, the Pantry has transformed attitudes about food insecurity from disbelief to awareness, and it is actively serving to foster a sense of community, volunteerism and service to peers on campus.

https://studentaffairs.umd.edu/food-access-student-well-being-study