The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Food Pantry has been a part of campus since 2014, their goal being to help students that deal with food insecurity, providing food and toiletries to those who need assistance.<\/p>\n
According to Move for Hunger, nearly 30% of undergraduate students tend to face food insecurity throughout their academic career, which can possibly be even higher for marginalized communities.<\/p>\n
The Food Pantry has made sure to battle food insecurity amongst students here at UTEP, striving to ensure that there are enough supplies for the students in need throughout the semesters.<\/p>\n
Even so, they are operating during the Summer as well, with their demand still being high. Jaime Mendez Ed.D., Assistant Dean for Student Support at UTEP, has taken into account how much of a difference in demand it has been this summer compared to the ones previously.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt used to be that summers were one of our low periods,\u201d Mendez said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen that because of the availability of the food pantry operating at extended hours during the summer and then the introduction of our mobile pantry that comes every Monday (\u2026) and so we\u2019ve seen steady traffic for the summer. Not as big as fall and spring, but a little higher and consistent than other years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UTEP Mobile Food Pantry is another service that is part of the Food Pantry, offering their services for the El Paso community and students every Monday at the Helen of Troy Softball Field Parking Lot from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey give more bulk items, so individuals can have more than a week\u2019s worth of food when they go to the Mobile Pantry,\u201d Mendez said.
UTEP junior and Food Pantry employee, Emilio Medrano, was a student who had experienced food insecurity firsthand, finding it important for students to seek out that help when needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know from experience because that was me when I lived on campus. I didn\u2019t know about the food pantry,\u201d Medrano said. \u201cI feel like a lot of students when they come, they don\u2019t realize how many of the things we do have. And when they do, they feel surprised that they were there in the first place. We\u2019re here to help. It\u2019s a big help, especially for any college student.\u201d<\/p>\n
As these services continue, their job is to progress as they start to expand from their current location in Memorial Gym to 105 Union East, wanting the accessibility to become bigger, even changing how they will be providing their services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re anticipating that the pantry at the Union is really going to change the landscape of our resources on campus, and I say that because what we\u2019re hoping to make it a mini market style pantry, where individuals will come in, check in, grab one of those hand baskets, and be able to go through the aisles and pick what they want,\u201d Mendez said.<\/p>\n
Mendez believes that by incorporating a \u201cmini-market\u201d style, it gives the students more autonomy to be able to see what they want before they check out and take it with them. With expansion, there are plans to bring in more food than before, even with the availability of refrigerated and frozen foods.<\/p>\n
The UTEP Food Pantry hopes to bring their expansion towards the fall semester, continuing to fight food insecurity, one student at a time.<\/p>\n