That is the primary long-term funding dedication that the campus meals pantry has acquired since its inception in 2013. Most funds shall be used to buy meals, with a substantial portion coming from Feed Extra, the regional meals financial institution serving Central Virginia.
VCU Enterprise Providers consists of items comparable to eating providers, retail shops and mail providers. Its partnership with Ram Pantry displays a broader initiative to assist college students in want by entry to nutritious meals choices.
“It’s extra than simply filling cabinets,” stated Stephen Barr, Ed.D., director of Enterprise Providers. “It’s about giving our college students consolation and assurance, which may considerably impression their well-being.”
The Enterprise Providers funding will propel a pilot program – Little Ram Pantry — into its subsequent part. In 2021, Little Ram Pantries have been established across the Monroe Park and MCV campuses by John Jones, Ph.D., an assistant professor in VCU’s Center for Environmental Studies, to make meals extra accessible. The pilot has already revealed a considerable unmet want for meals help amongst college students, underscoring the important position of the central Ram Pantry and the Little Ram Pantries.
Traditionally, Ram Pantry has operated with minimal formal funding from VCU for meals procurement, making this new assist a game-changer.
“The cash from Enterprise Providers will go an extended approach to offering extra culturally applicable and nutritionally dense meals for struggling college students,” stated Jones, the principal investigator of Little Ram Pantries pilot.
“Solely legislative motion can really start to erode this inequality,” he stated of meals insecurity. “Nonetheless, we are able to mitigate the issue by taking motion in our group. Bolstering the ability of group and collaboration makes a tangible distinction in college students’ lives and is a testomony to unity throughout the VCU group.”
The central Ram Pantry is positioned at 930 W. Grace St. and is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Little Ram Pantries are scattered over each VCU campuses, and college students in want can use them to amass meals 24/7.
Inquiries in regards to the Little Ram Pantries analysis venture may be made to Jones by way of e mail at jonesj39@vcu.edu.
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