Fueling the Next Big Idea: Keeping Food Shelves Stocked at the KU Campus Cupboard
Campus Cupboard Helps Meet Essential Needs So Students Can Focus on Working Toward Degrees
Among the first people to walk into the University of Kansas Campus Cupboard when it opened for the semester was a student and their young child. For that student, as well as hundreds of others who visit the food pantry each month, the stocked shelves represent much more than just a meal.
“The student thanked us for existing, for helping to feed their child,” said Campus Cupboard Coordinator Haylie Lancaster. “They said they were able to continue working toward their college degree because we exist.”
They are not alone. A study by the KU School of Public Affairs and Administration found that nearly one in three KU students have limited or uncertain access to adequate food, also known as food insecurity.
“I don't think there's a ‘typical person’ who comes in,” Lancaster said. “Everybody has their own reasons behind why they use the pantry.” Patrons come from a variety of backgrounds — including first generation college students, international students, those caring for their families and many others. What they have in common is a need the pantry can help meet.
The Campus Cupboard, which is supported in part by donations from the annual One Day. One KU. campaign, is located in what Lancaster described as “a small but mighty space” in the Kansas Union on the Lawrence campus. The grocery store-style pantry carries staples such as canned goods, pasta, beans and cereal, as well as a limited selection of fresh and frozen items such as fruit, vegetables, milk and cheese. Personal care, hygiene and kitchen items are also available. No income verification is required to use the pantry, and everything is free. It is open to students as well as faculty and staff — and the need for its resources is growing.
Meeting a basic need
Like food pantries across the country, the number of people using the Campus Cupboard has been increasing over the past few years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a 40% increase in the number of monthly visits to the pantry, from 390 monthly visits at this time last school year to about 550 currently. These numbers include repeat visitors, as students may visit up to twice a week. There is especially high demand for fresh and frozen food items, which are restocked weekly and quickly run out.
“We spend $1,000 per week, but those items are probably gone in the first three days,” Lancaster said. “They're really popular.”
Donations from the annual One Day. One KU. campaign help pay for the fresh and frozen food items, while the pantry’s shelf-stable supplies are stocked by Just Food, a local food bank that also provides some fresh produce during the local growing season, thanks to generous gardeners.
Lancaster emphasized that what the pantry provides — and what donations help support — goes far beyond the nutritional needs of KU students and staff.
If they're able to eat, they're able to complete work, they're able to go to class. When people come in stressed about a number of things, this is a way to meet a basic need so they can go and do the things they're here to do.
~ Campus Cupboard Coordinator Haylie LancasterOne Day. One KU. donations also support take-home meal bags during university breaks. The meal bags are produced in partnership with the campus organization Food Flawk, and like the pantry, there has been an increasing need. Requests for meal bags for the 2023 Thanksgiving break more than doubled from 2022.
Stocking the shelves
The Campus Cupboard is housed under KU Student Affairs, specifically student support and case management. From its inception five years ago, spurred by a KU graduate student’s research, the pantry’s mission has been to address and reduce food insecurity in the campus community. Lancaster said the funding from One Day. One KU. is key to that mission — and has very tangible results.
“It is vital to the running of our space,” she said. “We would not be able to be open as many days as we are without it.”
Additional donations collected through the 2024 One Day. One KU. campaign on March 6, will help the Campus Cupboard do more — such as provide more of the fruits, vegetables and other fresh and frozen foods that are in high demand — as well as offer additional options for those with dietary restrictions.
“We want to make sure that we have enough on the shelves for a full week, because those first few days are really jam-packed with people coming in,” Lancaster said.
The pantry hopes to ensure that students or staff members who find themself in need will not face empty shelves. It’s the difference between having to focus on fundamental needs or instead focusing on what they came to campus to do.
The Campus Cupboard is located on Level 4 of the Kansas Union, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd., and accessible from both the Student Involvement and Leadership Center and the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center. The pantry is open to all enrolled students, faculty and staff and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, excluding Tuesdays. For more information on its services, visit the Campus Cupboard website.
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