Elizabethtown College President McCormick Launches Pantry for Students to Combat Food Insecurity

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa., Sept. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, Elizabethtown College launched a new initiative in an effort to combat food insecurity. The Blue Jay Pantry, a food pantry located on campus, will be available to the College's student body.

"We established the Blue Jay Pantry in an effort to minimize the burdens that food insecurities can place on our students," Elizabethtown College President Cecilia M. McCormick, J.D. said. "It's estimated that one in five college students have inadequate access to food and we want to put an end to that starting on our campus, and eventually expanding our efforts to the broader community."

The mission of the pantry is to provide free, non-perishable food items for Elizabethtown College students experiencing hunger and/or having difficulty buying food as well as offering a resource to help students create healthy meals.

Elizabethtown College joins over 700 schools nationwide who operate an on-campus food pantry and is now a member of the College and University Food Bank Alliance (CUFBA). CUFBA provides colleges and universities with support, training and resources to connect more students with the food and resources they need for educational success.

The goals of the Etown pantry goals include:

• To eliminate food insecurity at Elizabethtown College.
• The pantry is intended to be accessible to all students in order to eliminate barriers to access for students experiencing hunger and having difficulty buying food and will operate in ways that maximize hospitality and privacy. 
• The pantry, in partnership with offices and programs on campus, will provide resources to help students learn how to create nutritious meals.

The Blue Jay Pantry will be managed by Etown's Center for Community and Civic Engagement and staffed by student volunteers. Provisions for the pantry will be sourced through donations, both of non-perishable food items and monetary contributions. Learn more about the Blue Jay pantry.

About Elizabethtown College 

Elizabethtown College, located in southcentral Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than 50 health, science, engineering, political science business, communications, fine art and music, and education degrees. Discover more: etown.edu.

Contact:
Keri Straub
Executive Director of Marketing and Communications
Elizabethtown College
(717) 725-6907
[email protected]

SOURCE Elizabethtown College

Related Links

https://www.etown.edu/