Many Hands Make Light Work
Reported by Natalie Amodei
The Bruin Community Pantry (BCP) is entering its second year of service to George Fox University (GFU) students. Jere Witherspoon, executive assistant to the vice president for Student Life and the dean of students, is its coordinator.
When questioned about the outcomes of the BCP last year, Witherspoon said, “we need to keep this going. While it’s a Student Life-led initiative, it really belongs to the community. Many hands make light work.”
BCP seeks to address the real issue of food insecurity at GFU. In Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice’s April 2019 report, 45% of national respondents reported that they were food insecure within the last thirty days. If those statistics are true at GFU, there are over 1000 undergraduate students on our campus facing food insecurity. The only way to provide for that many is to offer options through the Hospitality Tables and the food bank.
The biggest concern Witherspoon has is finding sustainable funding. According to a recent survey, 60% of GFU students had not heard of the BCP because the program doesn’t have the money for necessary advertisement. The university allotted the program $5000 from the student fund last year, but Witherspoon is unsure if she will be receiving that funding again. Finding inexpensive sources for supplies and food is at the forefront of her mind.
Over the summer, Witherspoon worked with Yamhill Community Action Partnership (YCAP) to become a certified food bank, granting the BCP access to their food supplies at very low costs each week.
“This has been a game changer,” Witherspoon said. Being a certified food bank allows the BCP to offer meat and fresh produce for students who might otherwise not have access to these resources.
Also new this year is an intern named Claire Jaqua. She is making initial contacts with other programs and restaurants in the area. A few weeks ago, Subterra and Rogue Catering donated sixty pounds of frozen chicken and are interested in continuing these donations.
Student Life is currently in the process of remodeling with plans for a new hospitality section and a dining area for students. A GFU alum has also expressed interest in donating a food grade refrigerator for food storage, allowing for expansion of the Leftovers program.
Previously, the Leftovers program has been labor intensive due to the pre-packaging of food and daily runs students were making to Bon Appétit. Witherspoon wants to reduce plastic usage and increase efficiency with time and resources. Friendsview, the retirement community across the street from the Newberg campus, is also catered by Bon Appétit and may be a future avenue for the program.
A new addition to the BCP is Closet Project, an outreach by the Bruin Store based on donations to provide access to professional clothing at a cost of $1 per piece. This money will go to the BCP to address food insecurity.
The BCP has received faculty donations and is continuing their relationship with Grocery Outlet. Grocery Outlet donates $2500 worth of food to the Hospitality Tables every year. The Grocery Bag Initiative also began this year, seeking to overcome the barriers people face in donating food. These bags are in numerous offices around campus. Once they are full, the bags are picked up and an empty bag is provided. This initiative has been very successful thus far.
Witherspoon is optimistic about the future of Bruin Community Pantry and all of the success they have had as they go into their second year.
“I just want to get food out to the students,” Witherspoon said. Because of the food bank, people have access to food and are able to eat.
With the continuing expansion of the BCP, Witherspoon is trying to “keep her head above the water” and wants a club to facilitate this new growth. She wants to address the continuation of BCP and to have students buy-in on the pantry, ensuring that everything is “relevant and meaningful” to the target of the program: George Fox students. A club would also be useful in addressing food waste and planning food drives. “God is pulling everything together,” Witherspoon said.
If you are interested in being part of this initiative, contact Jere Witherspoon in the Student Life office. Follow Bruin Community Pantry on Facebook and Instagram. Hospitality tables are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and the food bank is open four days a week with hours posted on the GFU website.