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The Pioneer Pantry at William Paterson University celebrated its grand reopening on September 28 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to herald its new location – a larger, more visible, and conveniently accessible space on campus.
In operation since the fall of 2017, the Pioneer Pantry is now located in Speert Hall room 135, right behind the bus stop in Lot 5. It shares the same exterior entrance as WP’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs.
The new space has allowed for an expanded inventory of products, including perishables such as milk and eggs, which are stored in a refrigerator newly donated by the Food Bank of New Jersey.
A freezer will also be added soon, thanks to the philanthropic support of retired WP professor emerita Jean Levitan.
“By providing a bigger, better resourced Pioneer Pantry, William Paterson is honoring its commitment to removing roadblocks that stand between our students and a college degree,” said WP President Richard Helldobler in his remarks at the ceremony. He noted that the issue of food insecurity extends far beyond our campus in these post-pandemic times.
The pantry’s “humble beginnings” were a small, third-floor space and a generous $10,000 donation from the Student Government Association to get it started, said Vice President of Student Development Miki Cammarata in her remarks.
“Since that time, use of the pantry has grown significantly, as have the inventory and staffing, which is what led to moving to this new space,” she explained.
Use of the pantry more than doubled between the 2018-19 and 2022-23 academic years, and a large uptick in foot traffic since it moved to its new space promises a larger increase yet, Cammarata said.
So far this September, there have been 363 visits made to the pantry by 245 individual students, up from 176 visits and 100 individual students for the whole month of September of last year, according to Director of Campus Activities, Service, and Leadership Donna Minnich Spuhler. She oversees operation of the pantry with AmeriCorps Vista Volunteer Amajanae Crumbley ’23, who serves as the on-site coordinator.
WP students who would like to use the pantry need to show their student ID card to the on-site volunteer and then scan a QR code to log their attendance. Then, they take a complimentary tote bag and shop; no questions asked.
In addition to food items such as rice, pasta, sauce, granola bars, and fruit cups, the pantry is also stocked with cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products. Loaves of fresh bread are provided by Bimbo Breads of Totowa, New Jersey.
Members of the campus community who would like to donate items to the pantry can leave them in a large bin near the entrance.
In closing, President Helldobler gave a special thanks to the students who donate to the pantry and the student-volunteers who keep it running. Thanks to that dedicated group of student-volunteers, the pantry has extended its hours of operation starting this academic year.
“You are demonstrating the kind of mutual support for your peers that lifts people up and builds strong communities,” the president said. “That kind of attitude and effort is needed everywhere these days, so I encourage you to apply it wherever you go and whatever you do.”
