As the topic of food insecurity continues to roil college campuses, the University of California Santa Barbara is seeking to meet its students’ needs with the addition of a second food pantry, which debuted last fall.
Miramar Food Pantry, which is open three days a week, is available to any UCSB student who qualifies, according to The Current, the news section of UCSB’s website. The pantry took over the space of a former retail market and is being run and funded by the university’s Housing, Dining and Auxiliary Enterprises.
“We’re supplementing what we get from the Foodbank of Santa Barbara and some perishables from grocery stores and providing additional fruits, vegetables and dairy to create healthy options,” Jill Horst, the university’s executive director of campus dining, said on the site. “That’s what we’re really about: having well-balanced, nutritional options in the pantry just as we do in our dining commons every day. Many people hear pantry and they think instant ramen or cup of noodles. Those meet a purpose, but we want to expand on that and open the pantry to healthier options.”
The school is also home to the Associated Students Food Bank, located in its University Center. Between the two locations, UCSB students have access to a food pantry five days a week.
Read the full story via The Current.