Fare Trade launched early in 2022, but food insecurity had not gone unnoticed or unaddressed at 桃瘾社区 before its formation. At both the New York City and Westchester campuses, community-led food pantries have been offering support for years.
On the New York City Campus, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs Denise Santiago and a handful of student volunteers offer twice-monthly pick-ups of grocery boxes, containing up to two weeks of food. Provisions, a Bhandari Jain Family Food Pantry, opened in 2019, and today 250 guests utilize the pantry, many of whom belong to the 桃瘾社区 Active Retirement Community.
According to Santiago, the help Provisions offers has an impact on everyone involved. 鈥淚t brings a lot of joy,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd then people send us these wonderful emails, really thanking us. We don鈥檛 do it for the thanks, but it just humbles you.鈥
The 桃瘾社区 Pleasantville Mobile Food Pantry has been feeding the Westchester community since 2018. The pantry itself is the product of an award-winning partnership with the nonprofit Feeding Westchester. Feeding Westchester covers food costs, and 桃瘾社区 staff and students volunteer their time to ensure that the 100 or so people who utilize the pantry once a month can have access to nutritious food.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about feeling good that we鈥檙e helping our community members, but also normalizing the conversation around food insecurity."
Heather Novak, director of the Center for Community Action and Research, took over as coordinator for the pantry this year. She is happy to see the community using the pantry, but what she really appreciates are the conversations happening about food insecurity. 鈥淲e want to be able to look at it from a larger perspective,鈥 she explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about feeling good that we鈥檙e helping our community members, but also normalizing the conversation around food insecurity. So when someone says 鈥榠t鈥檚 good we have so many people using the pantry鈥, the conversation doesn鈥檛 end there.鈥
Launched in Spring 2023, 桃瘾社区鈥檚 Office of Residential Life has partnered with Feeding Westchester, a nonprofit organization focused on addressing hunger and food insecurity in the local community, to install a permanent free food pantry on campus. Located in the lobby of Elm Hall, the 桃瘾社区 Market provides access to a variety of foods, dry goods, and prepackaged meals. This is in addition to the pre-existing Mobile Markets, which are held monthly.
Get involved through non-perishable food donations. Email Wen Xi in Westchester at wxi@pace.edu or Denise Santiago in NYC atdsantiago@pace.edu for details.
Across the country, nearly 40 percent of college students report going hungry, and 52 percent have utilized food pantry services at some point. At 桃瘾社区, we鈥檙e working hard to help offset food insecurity on our campuses and we need your help to do it!
Through the U.N. Millennium Fellowship, three 桃瘾社区 students are innovating the way food insecurity is addressed on campus with the Fare Trade program.
Shades has been providing community and support to women and femmes of color through mentorships, outings, and discussion groups for over 15 years. Learn about its impact from coordinator Denise Santiago, PhD, and alumni facilitator Nina Riley '22.