Moravian University’s food and necessities pantry, Mo’s Cupboard, has expanded its operations since being awarded a $20,000 grant from PA Hunger-Free Campus last spring semester.
The most notable investment is the addition of two satellite locations to Moravian’s campus. One is on South Campus, located on the first floor of The HILL, and the other is in room 223 of the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (SMRC).
The Cupboard has also found extra ways to provide more resources for students. One creative way was when they published a pamphlet on microwave recipes.
Despite its recent expansion, the pantry has faced many hurdles in its operations.
One is finding the manpower to distribute donations among all three locations. The Cupboard is currently seeking volunteers to help keep them stocked, especially the South Campus location in The HILL.
Another challenge is divvying up donations for three pantry locations instead of one. The staff pays attention to the types of items that patrons of different pantries tend to use; it struggles to meet the particular patron needs of each one.
The pantry locations have been appreciated – and well used. The SMRC had almost 800 visits – known as entries – between August and October from over 100 students.
The Hill, home to South Campus’ only Mo’s Cupboard, has been used even more frequently, with almost 1800 entries from 198 students. That said, the Cupboard’s staff does not think that this number accurately shows its outreach on South Campus – which brings up another hurdle: collecting data.
The staff believes that there are groups of people who enter the room together using only a single one, mainly in the PPHAC pantry. This makes it hard for them to track the true usage of the pantry.
For that reason, the staff asks that each person who uses Mo’s Cupboard swipe in so they can better track how much each location is used. Despite one person being able to swipe in, an accurate count of usage is needed for staff to be able to allocate their resources and sustain financial and labor assistance in their restocks.
“The HILL has seen 35 students enter 379 times in the same period,” said In-Chi Chow-Rivera, executive administrative assistant, and Gregory Meyer, dean for community wellness, express. “Although their far fewer students, they are averaging more entries per person.”
The pantry staff also noticed that some users have not thrown trash away or closed the fridge door after use.
The Cupboard asks that all students treat the pantries and their resources with care and respect. Users should also observe the limits on how many products one person can take out of consideration for others.
“Mo’s Cupboard exists to reduce financial barriers to academic success,” said Chow-Rivera and Meyer. They aim to help students focus on their work by aiding those who are struggling with food insecurity.
The Cupboard also supports students who may need extra financial assistance in case of an emergency. Their applicable resource request form can be found at the following link: https://www.moravian.edu/mos-cupboard
Despite the hardships faced with their expansion, the Cupboard continues to keep the pantry stocked weekly for all those in need. Staff also anticipate that the Cupboard will have a dedicated space in the renovated HUB.
