What is CAMPUS CUPBOARD and what is the MAVERICK FOOD PANTRY?
The Maverick Food Pantry, located in Carkoski Commons, is a full-service pantry, offering fresh, frozen, non-perishable and personal care products to students who may be facing food insecurity. They work collaboratively in academic departments, community organizations, and other partners to provide food and items to students in need. The Maverick Food Pantry also works closely with Community Engagement Office and the Campus Cupboard, located in Crossroads Ministry adjacent to the Performing Arts Center, to make sure they have the resources and food distributed to the pantry spaces and ensure that a student can get food any day of the week!
The Maverick Food Pantry is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (with an evening shift on Tuesday night) while the Campus Cupboard is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Student Activities Office of Community Engagement has been a partner in connecting them with food resources and promoting the spaces as volunteer and service learning opportunities for students to engage in the work of food insecurity and non-profit leadership with our organizations.
Get Involved
Students can volunteer at any open shift at the Maverick Food Pantry. Students looking to volunteer with the Maverick Food Pantry can head to the website (https://www.mnsu.edu/university-life/campus-services/maverick-food-pantry/) and click on the link under the “Volunteer” area. There are also opportunities for a larger group (8-10 people) to help volunteer on Second Harvest delivery days. If interested, they can email Megan Heutmaker (megan.heutmaker@mnsu.edu). The webpage is also where students can go to make an appointment. If anyone is interested in making a donation to support the Maverick Food Pantry, there is a link on this website to make a donation. We also participate in in the university’s crowd funding campaigns, which will open soon! Students can also volunteer to help with the Maverick Food Garden, which supplies fresh items to the pantry. Email Liz (elizabeth.steinborn-gourley@mnsu.edu) for more info.
Goals
“Our goal is to make sure students never have to make a decision about whether to eat a good meal or pay for necessities like rent, utilities, or their university bills. Food is a basic and essential need to ensuring a student is successful in their academic endeavors. We support students holistically and want to make sure basic needs are met.”
-Megan Heutmaker, Director of American Indian Affairs
Heutmaker also emphasizes the want to destigmatize the idea of using the food pantry or food shelf. “Any student is eligible to walk through our doors and get food! We work hard to make a warm and inviting space that helps to ease feelings of unease or embarrassment of using these services.” Being a patron of a food pantry doesn’t mean that you are “less than,” it just means you need to eat and they’re here to help with that.
