State grant boosts SRU efforts to combat food insecurity
Slippery Rock University’s food pantry is receiving a sizable grant from the state, assisting its efforts to combat food insecurity and give students better access to food.
Rock Pantry+, which provides students with free items like food, toiletries and other resources, is getting $60,000 to boost its support abilities.
The money comes from a Hunger-Free Campus Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The department of education has awarded about $1 million in such grants to 30 other education institutions across the state.
According to an SRU news article, Rock Pantry+ serves over 350 unique students each semester along with a combined 13,000 pantry resource visits.
“By providing students their basic needs, these resources give them the opportunity to thrive that some might not otherwise have,” Parker Short, a worker at the food pantry, said in the article. “We foster a caring community that is available for all students, regardless of their situation, and we make it a point to encourage students who might be hesitant to use the resources that are free for them.”
According to SRU, survey data indicates that 38% of its students reported experiencing some form of basic need insecurity, and 27% reported food insecurity.
Food insecurity is something college students around America deal with. According to a United States Government Accountability Office report from 2024, about 23% of college students — close to 4 million — experienced some level of food insecurity.
SRU will use the funds to increase capacity by purchasing a larger freezer. The money will also be used to expand educational programming and establish a “peer navigator program” to support students with basic life skills.
“A student who is hungry can’t fully focus on learning,” Tori Kapopoulos, the associate director of student support, said in the article. “This state grant is critical because it allows us to expand the food pantry and provide greater support for students, helping remove barriers so they can succeed in the classroom and beyond.”
