RIC’s Food Pantry has reopened

Raymond Baccari

Editor-in-Chief

Photo taken by Mel Rising Dawn Cordeiro

Rhode Island College’s new Learning 4 Life Food 4 Thought Pantry and Lounge has re-opened following water damages caused by a recent winter storm.

The news was revealed to RIC’s student body last week. Later in the week, on Thursday, the pantry reopened at its usual time of 1 p.m.

The pantry is located on Building 3’s ground floor, which is at the East side of RIC’s campus. This pantry’s hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays.

Earlier this month was the official opening of this new pantry and lounge, which was first established in 2016 with the overall goal of combating food insecurity amongst RIC’s students.

An April 2018 study by Temple University and Wisconsin HOPE lab researchers that the pantry cites on the RIC website states that “more than 1/3 of college students surveyed nationally do not get enough to eat.” Another survey by Temple and Wisconsin Hope lab researchers released three years later said, “28% of students surveyed experience food insecurity in the prior 30 days.”

Back at RIC, the spring 2019 Campus Climate Survey showed that “33% (323 of 953 respondents) of our students indicated they were experiencing financial hardships related to obtaining food.” In the 2019-2020 school year, 627 students utilized the pantry for a total of 2,204 times.

All that’s needed for students who are utilizing the pantry is for them to bring their student ID with them. The pantry has items stocked such as canned food, macaroni and cheese, pasta, pasta sauce, peanut butter, non-perishables and toiletries.

The pantry hires students for work-study. Students interested in working at the pantry can contact Daniel Reyes via email at dreyes1@ric.edu.

The pantry also accepts donations. They are certified for dry goods only and are in the greatest-need for snack-type items such as potato chips, cookies, pudding, fruity cups, granola bars, nuts, microwavable meals and drinks.

Those who are interested in donating can email the pantry navigator at L4Lnavigator01@ric.edu to schedule a drop-off time.