Students Volunteer to Fight Hunger on Campus
Words and photograph by Terrell F. Merritt
Illustration by Katie Herchenroeder
The late afternoon sunlight splashed throughthe doorway of the food pantry in the North Academic Center as Cris G. headedin. “It is cool that students got involved to start the pantry. I guess itshows just how much can happen when you really care about an issue,” he said.
Student members of NYPIRG, The New York PublicInterest Research Group, and others from the Colin Powell School for Civic andGlobal Leadership, started the food pantry two years ago.
“Students should not have to decide betweentheir next meal and their next class,” said Darlenis Cabral, the CCNY NYPIRGchapter president. “This is important because, especially at CUNY, people donot speak about hunger or financial need.” NYPIRG says that, according to asurvey, 20 percent of CUNY students identified as food insecure.
Anyone in the CCNY community can show up andchoose from among the dry food products on the shelves - no questions asked.“The pantry exists to access no matter what a person’s situation is,” assertedCabral.
The food pantry, located on the sixth floor of the North Academic Center, Photo by Terrell F. Merritt.
But NYPIRG needs volunteers to staff thepantry and keep it open to make sure students get the food that they need.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a newsconference last August that all SUNY and CUNY campuses should have a foodpantry by the end of the fall semester. He made this statement as a part of hisNo Student Goes Hungry initiative, which also addresses the food insecurity ofyounger school children. Cuomo did not provide money for this project. He leftthe creation of the pantries and the funding up to individual colleges.
NYPIRG project coordinator Sinead Murray saidthe pantry depends upon the generosity of those who can give. “Food is providedprimarily by donations from the City College community,” she said. Sometimesthe group organizes food drives off campus, which also help keep shelvesstocked.
Students can sign up to volunteer by reaching out to NYPIRG. Their office is located in room 1/120 of the North Academic Center, and additional contact information is available at nypirgstudents.org.
