After a six-week hiatus this semester for restocking purposes, the Pard Pantry – an accessible resource of food and hygiene products for students – plans to reopen next Wednesday.
Pard Pantry, now in its fifth year of operations, saw its first paid student staffers this summer break — an effort spearheaded by Student Government Inclusivity Officer Sasha Carter ’27.
“That was one of my concerns in previous years – we were just volunteer-based,” Carter said.
Pard Pantry was open for four days a week from May through August, allowing students to take what they needed while both dining halls were closed for the break.
“I believe we had to restock three times,” said Tuna Akin ’27, a student who worked in the Pard Pantry during the summer. “This is a lot, honestly. I remember we once got these noodles and all of them were gone the next day.”
Akin and Traian Beleac ‘27 were present in the pantry during summer operating hours. Their duties included restocking and asking regular visitors what products they would like to see more often.
According to Akin, the first two weeks after classes ended in May brought the greatest amount of foot traffic the pantry has seen. He estimated six to seven students visited every time they opened.
According to Carter, the recent successes of Pard Pantry can be attributed to a grant from an individual donor as well as a $7,000 grant from Swipe Out Hunger, which has been reapplied to for a second year.
“We are waiting to hear back from that,” Carter said of the grant.
There are concerns that the availability of the pantry is not widely advertised to students.
“I think it’s a great resource,” Akin said, but “most people don’t know what it is.”
According to Carter, the pantry’s most recent addition is a deep freezer that will make it easier to store perishable foods and purchase goods in advance for various weather and holidays.
“I definitely try to match to the season,” Carter said, explaining how products are chosen for the pantry. “I’m going to do more cozier meals because I know fall break and winter break are colder, sadder seasons.”
Carter said of the pantry that “once the semester starts, it kind of dies down.”
She would like to begin opening up the Pard Pantry during school weekdays and plans to open the pantry on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before fall break for students to stock up before the long weekend.
Last semester, the Pard Pantry was open on Saturdays.
“I would say we’ve seen improvement, but I definitely have a long way to go,” Carter said of the Pard Pantry. “I’m excited to keep building it up as a resource.”
