The Academic Senate Committee on Committee on Food Insecurity of the Academic Senate met on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 12 - 1 P.M. Room MA-331

Committee Members in Attendance:

Lorraine Cupelli (Chair), Sara Danzi Engoron (Secretary), Weier Ye, Philip Nelan, Howard Sporn, Amy Traver (new member), Isabel Torres (new SGA President)

 

 

 

Liaisons in Attendance:

Ronni Weprin (Administrative Liaison for Food Pantry) 

 

Business:

The meeting was called to order at 12:10 PM

 

Business: 

1. The meeting was called to order at 12:10 PM.
2. The February minutes were approved with one name spelling correction.
3. The pantry served 4,713 visitors since January of this year, which is more than last year.
4. Briefly discussed the role of the student volunteer during faculty hour of service.
5. Discussed finding recipes to post that represent cultural diversity on campus. Recipes can be printed and posted on a bulletin board. Discussed requesting bulletin board to be hung up in pantry.
6. Highlights from last year were reviewed and included the fall and spring food drives, Thanksgiving distribution event, and adopt a planter. It was noted that the plants have not been watered regularly – Howard Sporn volunteered to contact buildings and grounds to include them when they water nearby planters.
7. The pantry has lost its storage room. It is difficult to order in bulk ahead of what might be needed. This will pose great difficulty in preparing for the Thanksgiving food drive. Ronni Weprin will reach out to find storage for packed bags.
8. In previous semesters, Ashlie Klepper has collected money from committee members to purchase personal hygiene items for pantry distribution. We plan to do this again.
9. Lorraine Cupelli suggested using student-created statements about food insecurity from Alisa Cercone’s students to solicit donations for pantry. This may require getting permissions from each student. It was suggested that next time it would be better to get marketing involved before the event to make sure it is allowable and permissions have been obtained in advance.
10. Discussed the Grab and Go aspect of the food pantry. There is limited money for purchasing food and much demand this year. The suggestion was made to solicit donations for these pantry items during a food drive. Items needed include granola bars, small shelf stable milk containers, cereal, nuts, and raisins.
11. Discussed purchasing plain rice for students since it is a very popular staple for many cultures. Historically there has been an issue with insects in the rice packaging so we are looking into better options for small rice packets, like Minute rice in small cups if it is not too expensive.
12. The Thanksgiving food drive is scheduled for Tuesday, November 26^th. There will be another meeting of the committee in early November to organize the effort.

Respectfully submitted by:

Sara Danzi Engoron