This content was published: October 22, 2018. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Panther Pantries provide needed catalyst for food insecure students to succeed
Photos and story by James Hill
Portland is a popular city, attracting TV and movie productions. It also has impressive livability ratings.
This has resulted in fast population growth with rising home prices and rents, adversely impacting vulnerable populations at the low-end of the socio-economic scale. It also means there is less money for food.
These trends have hit Portland Community College students hard with nearly two-thirds reporting they are food insecure. The Association of Community College Trustees conducted analysis on recently released data from the 2016 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study by the U.S. Department of Education. It discovered that one-third of community college students experiencing food and/or housing insecurity were both working and receiving financial aid. And 63 percent of parenting community college students surveyed were food insecure and almost 14 percent were homeless.
“Most of our students have to attend part time because they need to pay for housing, food, transportation, childcare and other living expenses,” said PCC President Mark Mitsui. “They therefore work more and study less and graduate at lower rates than those who can afford to attend full time and work fewer hours while doing so.”
At PCC, more students are accessing resources. In 2017-18, nearly 6,000 students used the Panther Pantries that are based at each comprehensive campus – Cascade, Rock Creek, Southeast and Sylvania. The pantries, which were first started back in 2007 as small food canteens, now help students access food, used clothing, hygiene products, emergency bus passes, applications for child care subsidies, and emergency grants and bus tickets. The pantries receive funding from student fees but also rely on cash donations to operate.
“The Panther Pantries have been a game changer,” said Stephen Arthur, manager of student life and leadership development at the Sylvania Campus. “We can now offer more reliable services every week. We have more and more first-time users to the Panther Pantries, so they are a huge asset.”
Student Tim White operates the Panther Pantry at the Southeast Campus. He is meticulous in how he displays the food – rows are neat and the items are correctly labeled. He does this because he wants students to have dignity while they shop and not have to fight through a mess of donated food.
“The impact of having the pantry here on campus can’t be overstated,” White said. “We want to try to eradicate the stigma of asking for help.”
When he opens the door to the pantry within the main hallway of Mt. Tabor Hall, it’s not long before students stop by to use it. White, who is the campus’ leader of student resources, knows all too well what they are going through.
“I’ve been hungry and have faced food insecurity, too,” he said. “You can’t think of anything else when your hungry. By having the pantry accessible, the students can help themselves by getting rid of the hunger and have piece of mind. They can then focus on their education.”
And it’s not just the food pantries that are helping to fight student hunger but the learning gardens are instrumental, too. PCC has gardens at Rock Creek, Sylvania, Southeast and Newberg that grow fresh produce that is sold at a discount or are provided to the college’s dining services to give students in need access to healthy food. In addition, the PCC Foundation has made it a core initiative to fight food insecurity. It’s raised more than $30,000 in cash and in-kind donations from area stores to fight hunger at the college.
The challenge now is getting the word out about the Panther Pantries so that students who need the food and the assistance know its there. Arthur said they are seeing more and more students accessing the Panther Pantries, whether its for food bags, vouchers or express meals, but more can be helped.
“Students are accessing the resources that help them the most and if having three meals a day does that then that’s a good thing to do,” he said.
Info: The Panther Pantry
Pantries are available at all four main campuses – Rock Creek, Sylvania, Cascade and Southeast. They are designed to help students struggling with food gaps as many experience hunger as they juggle the expenses needed to achieve their educational goals.
Hours & Locations
- Cascade: Student Union ASPCC Information desk: Monday – Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Rock Creek: Building 5 Room 113: Hours vary.
- Southeast: Mount Tabor Hall 105: Monday – Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sylvania: CC 221: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »
It should be made clear that these efforts are lead by students! All food pantries are part of ASPCC and “The pantries receive funding from STUDENT FEES (primarily) but also rely on (small percentage of) cash donations to operate.”
We are starting to see efforts from “PCC” and lets ask for and support these efforts to match what our students are doing.
Thanks,
Peter
Thank you to all those ASPCC and non-ASPCC folks helping this cause out. I appreciate the push for a welcoming presence at the pantry for those in need of food. The cost of all things considered is nullified when you are hungry; therefore a waste of time and money. Thank you to the students/staff/volunteers for your continued support in the Panther Pantry.* You can even grab a snack at the library. Cannot learn if hungry!!
–
-EM
This article is full of grammatical errors and poor sentence structure. How is this person writing for a college when they don’t even have basic high school level writing skills? This is totally unprofessional and it’s embarrassing that PCC actually posts this stuff.
Thanks for the input, Sarah! We value reader’s suggestions. So, we’ll have a further looksee and massage any readability issues if we find any.
Sarah, there is nothing wrong with the writing. The content is important and valuable to share. You’re the one who should be embarrassed for being so petty.
How does someone access this resource? I had to cut my hours at work to keep up with the school work and the cafeteria meals are so expensive that I have run out of money for food. Worried about paying my rent too but school is so important that I have to keep trying. Its becoming a major strain on my resources and survivability though. Who can I talk to for help?
Brandon, I hope you got your question answered. All you need to do is walk into the pantry at you campus and they can answer any questions you might have. Hours vary from campus to campus. I’m a Student Ambassador at the Southeast campus, and even if the pantry is closed, you are able to access it by going to the Student Resource Hub. You need to be a current PCC student and show your student ID with the current term’s sticker on it and you’re good to go. We also have information on other resources, both on and of campus.
How do you get more involved in the panther pantry and help out? Is it volunteer work or is it a paid job? Can you donate or is it all bought beforehand