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CAMPUS UPDATES
FIGHTING CAMPUS n 2012, graduate student Michelle Sun and “It was arduous work and we looked
HUNGER Ifour undergraduates wanted to help fellow funny walking across campus with shopping
by Jeffrey Javier students who were going hungry. carts full of food, but it was what we were
At the time, the University of Arizona
passionate about,” Sun says.
Jacob Chinn photo did not have a campus food pantry for Today, the UA Campus Pantry has a
students experiencing food insecurity. In permanent home. The Arizona Student
a survey conducted by UA Student Affairs Unions last year donated a space, shelves and
and Enrollment Management, 29 percent of a large refrigerator for the group to store and
undergraduate students indicated that they distribute food. Union vendors also regularly
often or always skipped meals or ate less donate fresh produce and dairy, which have
because of financial restraints. helped broaden food options.
“For some students, paying for tuition, The Associated Students of the University
rent and books takes precedence over paying of Arizona has named the UA Campus Pantry
for food,” says Sun, who is now co-founder an official student service program.
and executive director of the UA Campus It is now open every Friday and
Pantry. “It’s heartbreaking to know there distributes an average of 1,200 pounds of
are UA students being affected by food food to more than 100 students weekly.
insecurity.” The UA is one of nearly 500 colleges
The UA Campus Pantry opened in 2013, across the country to offer a campus pantry,
holding food distributions for students and according to the College and University Food
staff every other Friday. It was a grassroots Bank Alliance.
operation that involved transporting several
hundred pounds of food in donated shopping
carts from a tiny storage closet in Yavapai Hall
to the Residence Life offices.
12 ARIZONA ALUMNI MAGAZINE
