Building Food Security in Higher Ed Through a Campus-Wide Initiative

By: Sarah St. Peter, a Campus Compact AmeriCorps member serving at College of DuPage
in Glen Ellyn, IL from August 2020-August 2021

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND CAPACITY BUILDING IMPACT ANTI-POVERTY IMPACT PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY
College of DuPage is a community college that was established The goal of my project was to build capacity to create, This section presents the anti-poverty outputs and outcomes for Sustainability ensures the project can continue long after the
AmeriCorps Member and current staff of the host site are
in 1967 in Glen Ellyn, IL with a student population of strengthen, and expand the current systems that allow COD this project. FSI Interns for
garden & Pantry
gone.This chart shows the contributions towards sustainability.
A digital "binder"
containing notes and

approximately 25,000. to provide these resources to the community. TOTAL # OF NON TOTAL # OF VISITS TO
Basic Needs Intern information from my
in development service year.

FOOD INSECURITY INVESTIGATED I was to partner with the FSI team to expand the operations of DUPLICATED CLIENTS THE FUEL PANTRY: 858
The COD Phi Theta Kappa Chapter
SERVED: 280 CLIENTS VISITS Sustainability
2015 the pantry and garden, to identify/reach all members of the Student Interns Binder
conducts a campus-wide assessment
# OF ADDITIONAL FAMILY TOTAL # OF POUNDS Sustainability
on food insecurity. The results show campus community who may benefit from this service, and to Efforts
evidence of food insecurity in the
create/provide educational opportunities for clients, interns,
MEMBERS OF CLIENTS OF FOOD PROVIDED: Approved for Year
Fuel Pantry
community. SUPPORTED: 820 FAMILY 25,224 LBS. Manager Position
3 AmeriCorps
and service learners. The following graphic shows the areas in MEMBERS
Member

CAMPUS "FUEL PANTRY" which I built capacity for the project during my service year. still in discussion; Assisted with input
ESTABLISHED The left side of the graph
# OF CLIENT VISITS TO THE PANTRY PER not approved yet
assisted in writing
on the new VAD;

The Fuel Pantry is established to MONTH shows the number of Main recipient of
2016 provide "brain fuel" for any student, Pantry
Data Online
visits to the Fuel Pantry;
job description Other sustainable contributions include: data tracking systems,
documents on "how to" use these tools, templates and guides that
Sustainability Binder

staff, or faculty member with a self- Best

Donation
Mangament
Strengthening Client Testimonial 200
and Registration Collection can be edited, and a shared google drive for project resources.
Practices
Standardizing + Survey the bottom of the graph
identified need.
150 is the month and year.
Visits increased by word
COVID-19 RESPONSE
THE FOOD SECURITY INITIATIVE 100 of mouth and marketing. The project has adapted through developing new ways to serve our community. A
(FSI) ESTABLISHED FSI Newsletter & Service Learning The two highest spikes curbside distribution model allowing for client choice was implemented and built
One Page Guide Developed
The Food Security Initiative (FSI) 50 correspond to when upon. We also organized two special holiday distributions to assist clients during
2018 forms as an interdisciplinary Branded Outreach
Capacity $20,000 Resource faculty posted flyers on the pandemic. One took place around Thanksgiving and the other in December.
partnership between the Fuel Pantry,
Fuel Garden, COD staff, faculty, and
Designs for Flyers,
Posts, Etc. Built for Excellence Grant
0 their blackboard sites.
that creates, expands, or
students. 58% of registered clients

ly 20
ug 20

pt 20
ct 21
ov 20
ec 20

n 0

M b 1
ch 21

il 1
21
Grants &

Fe 202

pr 2
Marketing/ strengthens the systems and

Ja 02
found out through staff

O 20

ar 20
A 20
20
Resource

Ju 20
A 20

Se 20

N 20
D 20
Outreach

2
processes that help the Food
Development or faculty members.

ne
COVID-19 PANDEMIC FORCES Security Initiative carry out

Ju
SHUTDOWN OF CAMPUS its mission to build food Student Intern &
Website Redesign
MARCH The COVID-19 Pandemic forces Research security in the COD Service Learner
Recruitment EARLY OUTCOME DATA:
2020 closure of campus and Fuel Pantry. community.
Presented here is some early outcome data from a survey of clients that assessed
Template + >4, 391 Pounds of
The FSI investigates how to continue Guide Creation Food leveraged for
the Fuel Pantry food insecurity before and after use of the Fuel Pantry. The above images show some of our social media marketing for the curbside
to serve the client population.
50% of people that previously had answered that they often or sometimes pantry. We also marketed the pantry through the digital student newspaper, The
worried about running out of food said this was no longer a concern after Courier. I communicated regularly with clients informing them of other basic
Fuel Partnerships Fuel Pantry use. Additionally, of those struggling with food insecurity, 70% needs resources. The last photo on the right shows a guide I created with other
CURBSIDE DISTRUBITION MODEL Snack
Community
Asset &
Partnership Fundraising
Station Organization Model indicated that the pantry had specifically helped alleviate one or more food community resources we emailed to clients.
ESTABLISHED Research
Mapping Fundraising Research Design
challenges they faced.
Curbside distribution for the pantry is
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Yes

JUNE 11.1%

established to safely continue Far Left: Concern over

2020
DATA STREGTHENING
Never True

distributing food to the COD 26.9% Often True

30.8% running out of food
community. research of food pantry best practices; creation and implementation before Fuel Pantry Use. CHALLENGES
of new data collection methods and tools. Right Side: After Pantry
No Being introduced to a new project and workplace almost entirely virtually.
online client registration and food insecurity assessment, donation 50%
Use. Early results from Planning for future programs and writing grants amid the uncertainty of COVID.
records and management, and qualitative testimonials. this survey are showing
Sometimes

I START SERVICE AS AN
38.9%
Campus restrictions. hiring freezes, and loss of student workers/interns.
MARKETING/OUTREACH increased levels of food Difficulty determining low-income status of pantry clients for reporting.
AMERICORPS MEMBER
AUGUST security following use of
I start my service year as a second created signage and ads to increase awareness of pantry and Sometimes True

2020 year AmeriCorps Member, introduced

in an almost entirely remote setting.
The mission of College of DuPage is to be a center of excellence in
teaching, learning, and cultural experiences by providing accessible,
affordable, and comprehensive education.
Food insecurity is "the lack of reliable access to a sufficient quantity of
affordable, nutritious food(USDA)." Swipe Out Hunger, a national non-profit
writes, "a student's ability to focus in class, stay in school, and feel part of
the campus community is threatened by food insecurity."
COD recognized that in order to pursue its mission to provide accessible
higher education, basic needs and food supports for the community were
necessary. For many students, higher education is a pathway out of poverty
to a better paying job. These supports help ensure that these students
achieve their goal and do not leave college with no degree and debt they
did not have before starting college (The Hope Center).
curbside model of distribution.
assisted in writing and designing the first issue of the FSI Newsletter
to inform the campus community of project
designed a project one-page for project and data summary
GRANTS & RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Awarded the Resource for Excellence Grant ($20,000) through the
College of DuPage Foundation to support the Fuel Pantry.
Prompted by the Wheaton Rotary Club to submit proposal ($10,000)
which if received would allow for refrigeration in the pantry.
Creation of educational guide for service learning students.
FUNDRAISING & PARTNERSHIPS
Assisted in design of a tiered fundraising model that would also raise
awareness for the FSI project.
"Fuel Snack Station" Research on cost analysis, resources + marketing
Asset mapping and research on future partnerships
42.3%
the pantry by clients.
"The Fuel Pantry was there for me when my own parents couldn't be there for
me. Being an international student, the pandemic hit me really hard. Banks
were shut down overseas so I couldn't get help from my parents financially...
[The Fuel Pantry has] helped me so much! I never again went to bed hungry!!
[They] always asked me if I needed anything more without any judgement.
They worked so hard to help me and my family with meals."-Fuel Pantry Client
"As an exchange student, for a very short program and with a limited amount
of scholarship, we always try to save money and eat less than a normal portion
just to make sure we will not run out of money. But since we receive food every
Thursday, we felt relief." -Fuel Pantry Client
""I am very thankful for the food pantry...It helped me and my family during
difficult times...I sometimes worried that we wouldn't make it. But thank God
for all the people that helped us and other families."-Fuel Pantry Client
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YEAR 3 AMERICORPS MEMBER
Continue to survey the client base, pursue methods to determine low income status
of clients for reporting, and how to measure outcomes for increased food security.
Continue to pursue local, regional, and national partnerships, such as one with Swipe
Out Hunger.
Involve student leadership and government in advocacy groups to encourage
students in our community to advocate for their own campus community and for the
hunger free campus bill to be passed in the state of Illinois.
THANK YOU
This project and accomplishments of my service year were entirely a collaborative
effort. I am very thankful for the support from my host site supervisor: Shannon
Hernandez, Coordinator of Student Life at College of DuPage as well as Ana Vitek,
Fuel Garden Manager at College of DuPage, the Food Security Initiative team:
Deborah Adelman, Shamili Ajgaonkar, Remic Ensweiler, Lauren Morgan, and
Chuck Steele, and The Campus Compact Team, and my fellow AmeriCorps
Members!