Pictured, left to right, are Jillian Scannell, SGA president; Peter Lally, chair of the SGA Food Insecurity Ad Hoc Committee; Natasha Lovell, chair of the SGA Student Action and Wellbeing Committee; and Nicole Reilly, UVM dietician and chair of the Food Insecurity Working Group.
Vermont Business Magazine Rally Cat’s Cupboard, an on-campus food pantry serving graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Vermont, officially opened on February 24. The food pantry is a joint effort between the Student Government Association, the Graduate Student Senate, the Division of Student Affairs and the Food Insecurity Working Group. It is located in room 016 Hills Building.
The mission of the food pantry is to alleviate food insecurity among UVM graduate and undergraduate students by supplying them with healthy food. A 2017 study conducted by Meredith Niles, an assistant professor in UVM’s Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, found that one in five students has experienced food insecurity while at UVM. Food insecurity—the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, safe, nutritious food—is a national issue plaguing many college campuses.
“I am very excited about the opening of the food pantry. So many people from across campus and in the greater Burlington community have given support for the project and it is finally becoming a reality. No student’s success should be stunted because they are hungry,” said Jillian Scannell, president of the Student Government Association.
Rally Cat’s Cupboard will be open the third week of each month on Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As the pantry grows both in usage and service, the days and hours of operation will expand. The pantry will operate as a “shopping” experience where students are given reusable bags and can choose what they need.
Monetary contributions for Rally Cat’s Closet are being accepted through the UVM Foundation website. Please designate your gift as going toward the campus food pantry. Donations of shelf-stable, non-perishable food items can be dropped off in the SGA Office in room 309 on the third floor of the Dudley H. Davis Center at 590 Main Street.
Rally Cat’s Cupboard is one of many efforts on UVM’s campus focused on addressing food insecurity. Learn more about food insecurity efforts at UVM.