He added that there has been an increased need to distribute more items to students.
Campus Cupboard, a mini food pantry created in 2018, was originally located at the base of Weaver Chapel steeple. The food pantry had four shelves for volunteers to distribute about 250 food and hygiene items.
Jacob said students would “move through that stuff pretty quick."
The new building, located at 721 N. Fountain Ave., will not only allow 1,000 to 3,000 items to be distributed at a time, but it will be a space for education around food insecurity, nutrition and cooking, Jacob said. The building had previously housed the food co-op for the university.
“It was the food co-op’s desire that the space be handed off to the Campus Cupboard," Jacob said. "They actually left quite a bit of equipment for us like freezers, a fridge and a number of other things.”
Having freezers and a fridge has allowed the Campus Cupboard to offer additional food items like frozen meat, fresh produce, milk, butter and cheese.
“Our mission is to address food insecurity on campus in a convenient, friendly manner for our students," Jacob said. “The best thing about it is that it has become a community effort for our campus.”
He explained that their success is owed to Wittenberg’s faculty, staff, alumni and students for continuously reaching out to ask how they can help.
The students themselves have taken on “a big role in leading the charge" by setting up the new space, recruiting volunteers, training to become volunteers, and helping with social media, Jacob said.
“The students are making this their own,” he added.
The new location of the Campus Cupboard will open to students 4 to 7 p.m. today. Hours of operation will be 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In addition, the original Campus Cupboard location in Weaver Chapel will be open weekly from 9 to 5 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, students will be required to register online prior to visiting the Campus Cupboard.
“Across the country you can see a big spike in food insecurity and college campuses are certainly not immune to that," Jacob said.
For more information, search for Campus Cupboard - Wittenberg University on Facebook.
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