Dec. 5, 2024
Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) stands strong in the commitment to become a hunger free campus. The GRCC Food Pantry offers any student enrolled in at least one class at GRCC an opportunity to utilize the food pantry located in the Center for Student Life & Leadership office on the first floor of the Student Center. If a student is enrolled in one class, including credit or not for credit classes, ESL, job training program and workforce program, they can fill out an intake form and gain access to the pantry once a week.
Ocrea Collier, student resource coordinator, reflected on her time at GRCC prior to having a resource like the food pantry available. “Running the pantry myself, I feel students are so lucky to have this resource. When I was going to school here in 2011 and 2012, I had 7 classes and there was no food on campus. GRCC really fought hard for this program. Every student should utilize the pantry.”
Collier continued, “Current students have no idea how much the students before needed this kind of a resource. My experience as a student of coming at 7 in the morning and not being able to leave until about 7 at night, if I didn’t bring food, in between classes I wouldn’t be able to eat. Having snack shelves or going into the pantry to get food would have been a game changer. I wish students could see how valuable this program is and that it’s not something to feel bad about using. It’s really a gift to us all.”
GRCC’s student pantry received a generous overhaul during 2020 after pairing up with a grant from Feeding America West Michigan. “Prior to the grant with Feeding America, we used to provide a small bag of food to students who requested it. After the grant, we were able to build out the pantry to look more like a store,” Collier shared.
“The unique thing about the GRCC Student pantry is we don’t micromanage your selections. You can visit the store once a week after you fill out an intake form. We give you two bags along with a cooler bag for cold goods and you can peacefully shop for what you need on your own. It’s just like shopping at any other store,” Collier explained about the experience when visiting the pantry. She added, “We also have diapers and wipes. If you need diapers, you just let us know what size you need, and we’ll have them waiting at the desk for you when you’ve completed your shopping.”
In combination with the grants they’ve received, GRCC continues to pour resources into ensuring every student has access to having their basic needs met. “We are all human and we all need to eat,” commented Collier. “That’s nothing to be embarrassed of.”
Collier reflects on the valuable resource made available by GRCC’s commitment to a hunger free campus. “I’ve had many students tell me they would not have survived the semester without the pantry. Even if it’s just a snack. We have snack pantry shelves all over the campus in areas where students gather. We have a big shelf in the library as well. If you need something to eat, it’s available there for any student to get what they need whether it’s a noodle bowl, an oatmeal or something to drink.”
In addition to the Food Pantry, Collier, along with Lakisha Beck, registrar, started the Garden Club in hopes to have fresh vegetables available as well. “Our plan is to get to a point where students can eat their own vegetables that they grew themselves. We’ll also have a table with vegetables available for students to come get what they need,” Collier shared about the new club’s goals.
Anyone can donate to the pantry to help GRCC’s priority of ensuring all students’ basic needs are met. Collier expressed the current gaps in the pantry’s offerings. “We’d love to see more community involvement in donating to the pantry. We have needs for any kind of cleaning agent like laundry detergent, dish soap, body soap, cleaning supplies, anything like that. Students have also expressed the need for pots and pans, anything they can use to cook their food.”
“We also need gardening items like pots, gardening tools, soil, things like that to get the Garden Club off the ground. Any help from the community goes a long way,” Collier passionately shared. “It’s easy to donate as well, you can drop anything off directly at the office of the Center for Student Life & Leadership. We’ll take it from there,” said Collier.
Prior to Covid, the pantry was a smaller footprint on the GRCC campus. Since 2020, it’s grown into a full store that serves the students with ease. This incredible program continues to grow and provides a valuable resource for any student who needs it.
To gain more information on the hours for the Pantry or to learn how to utilize this resource, visit https://www.grcc.edu/students-resources/student-life-leadership/get-help/food-assistance for more information.
This story reported by Anjula Caldwell