{"id":427023,"date":"2026-10-13T22:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T22:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/427023\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T22:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T22:48:13","slug":"lend-a-wing-food-pantry-sees-surge-in-student-visits-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/427023\/","title":{"rendered":"Lend-A-Wing food pantry sees surge in student visits this fall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lend-A-Wing, the University of North Florida\u2019s student food pantry, saw a significant increase in student visits this fall semester as the pantry continues to expand its resources and outreach efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pantry recorded 1,200 student visits in August compared to 700 during the same month last year. Lend-A-Wing also distributed 3,000 pounds of food to students during the month, according to data from Lend-A-Wing\u2019s director Anjali O\u2019Toole-Gupta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tommy Mazella, Vice President of the UNF Student Government, said the increase reflects Lend-A-Wing\u2019s continued growth and demand for its services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are consistently growing with Lend-A-Wing; it is a really great effort, and our student staff there is amazing, as well as their advisors,\u201d Mazella said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mazella said the pantry once had a line of students extending outside the building, demonstrating the increasing engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In September, Lend-A-Wing recorded around 2,476 student visits, according to O\u2019Toole\u2011Gupta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are learning how to adapt with our growing student usage\u201d, O\u2019Toole-Gupta said. She said that the food pantry staff can handle the increase in student visits and encourages more students to visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

October plans for Lend-A-Wing<\/p>\n

Lend-A-Wing has several initiatives planned for October, including its annual partnership with Parking and Transportation Services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the week of Oct. 12\u201316, Lend-A-Wing hosts a week-long event called \u201cFines that Feed\u201d where students can pay their parking fees and all money will be donated to Lend-A-Wing. Around 587 parking fees were paid last year,<\/a> which helped raise more than $11,000 for the food pantry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As demand for the pantry grows, Lend-A-Wing is also looking for ways to improve the space and expand access to students. O\u2019Toole-Gupta said the organization plans to attend the Swipe Out Hunger National Convening in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Oct. 14\u201315.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This conference brings together nonprofit organizations, funders and community partners working to address college student hunger, according to the conference website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

O\u2019Toole-Gupta said Lend-A-Wing hopes to connect with other organizations and individuals to exchange ideas and find inspiration to expand and improve the food pantry at UNF.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What to look forward to
\n\"\"Arianna Sanislow-Pressey<\/a>
Students can expect new produce stands and wall decals as Lend-A-Wing explores ways to improve the food pantry and create a welcoming environment.<\/p>\n

Lend-A-Wing continues to explore ways to improve the food pantry and create a welcoming environment for students, according to O\u2019Toole-Gupta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New produce stands will be added to make fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible and the pantry also plans to install a colorful wall decal designed by a Student Government graphic designer, O\u2019Toole Gupta said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Lend-A-Wing is working on a project intended to expand students\u2019 access to the pantry, although officials have not yet released details. More information is expected in the coming weeks, O\u2019Toole-Gupta said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lend-A-Wing is open to all students from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The pantry is restocked every Monday, Wednesday and Friday before opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lend-A-Wing, the University of North Florida\u2019s student food pantry, saw a significant increase in student visits this fall…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-427023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}