TAMU-T food pantry increases days, hours
We know food insecurity exists, but when it hits home in that type of number, it kind of humbled me a bit.”
— Michael Stephenson, TAMU-T assistant director of Student Life
Texas A&M University-Texarkana opened its Eagle Food Pantry in 2019 as a way to address food insecurity among students. Its presence has only grown more important since the pandemic, as they’ve nearly doubled the amount of students served after opening more often.
Michael Stephenson, TAMU-T’s assistant director of Student Life, opened the university’s food pantry in September 2019 after seeing other colleges deploy pantries and running an assessment to calculate the need among students. The results made it clear what he needed to do.
“We’re a relatively small campus, so honestly, I wasn’t really expecting the assessment to come back the way it did,” Stephenson said. “It showed us that 33% of our students who completed the survey were food insecure at least once while being an Eagle.
“I was kind of shocked. We know food insecurity exists, but when it hits home in that type of number, it kind of humbled me a bit. And with that being said, we moved forward with it.”
TAMU-T is partnered with Harvest Regional Food Bank, where they purchase food at a discounted rate. They offer items like cereal, canned goods, rice and bread, as well as other essential items like toilet paper and toothpaste, among many other things.
The first month it was open the Eagle Pantry served 49 students, Since then, a total of 343 students have been helped during the academic year, despite being closed from April through August.
Because he felt there would be an additional need because of the pandemic, Stephenson decided to open the pantry twice each month instead of only once. In September, it served 81 people.
“The goal going in was if we could help feed one student, then we’re doing our jobs,” he said. “So, that was really the scope of my mission at the time, and I don’t think that mission has changed any. Right now, especially with the pandemic, if we’re feeding and helping one student, then our job is being done.”
One anonymous student provided a testimonial about how the Eagle Pantry benefited her family, speaking about how this year has been even more difficult than others.
“The food pantry has benefited me extremely because it provided food stability for me and my brother,” she said according to a TAMU-T account. “I still continue to have a shortage of money because I was laid off from work … due to COVID-19.”
She said she struggled with paying her rent, utilities, insurance, car bills and meals.
“On the nights closest to rent being due, we would only eat 1 meal a day with a small snack if we had leftover cash. I can’t express enough how thankful I was when I found out TAMU-T had a food pantry,” she said. “It took a lot of stress off of me and, being my brother’s guardian, I wanted to make sure my brother was full and happy.”
Students can go to the pantry at any of these dates and hours for the fall semester: 12-6 p.m. Oct. 12, Oct. 26, Nov. 9 and Nov. 23.
And if a student needs help apart from distribution day, they can contact the university and schedule an appointment, where they will be met with food/items.
“Students are facing a lot of different challenges — working full time, raising families — they’re not all the typical freshman students who’re living in the residence hall,” Stephenson said. “We’re dealing with students who may commute 30 miles to go to school or work two jobs. So if we can do something as little as provide a food pantry to take down one of their barriers to help them succeed in college, I think we’re fulfilling our mission.”
(Students who need help outside of normal distribution days can contact foodpantry@tamut.edu online for assistance. Anyone interested in sponsoring or making a monetary donation to the Eagle Pantry should contact Stephenson at 903-223-1362 or michael.stephenson@tamut.edu by email.)