The UF Dean of Students wants to open a food pantry for students this year and is in need of student workers.
Slated to open between March and April, the pantry will provide for students, faculty and staff in need of food and toiletry items.
The campus food pantry is tentatively scheduled to be open three days a week with staggered hours. Michele Peterson, assistant director for student success in the Dean of Students Office, said they are looking to have the pantry established in the space near McCarty Hall and the Food Science and Human Nutrition buildings.
Every three years, GatorWell sends a survey to students to assess their general health and wellness. In the Spring 2013 survey, 22 percent of UF students said they skipped meals occasionally, she said.
Peterson said the pantry will help alleviate this for homeless students, students who are providing for their families and those who are working part-time and just trying to make ends meet.
Nutrition is a direct reflection of a student’s ability to function and perform well, said Natalie Rella, a health promotion specialist at GatorWell.
“If you generalize the data on a campus of around 50,000 students,” she said, “it translates to around 15,000 students who are in need of food and a facility like the food pantry.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 1/29/2015 under the headline “Pantry opening to help hungry Gators, needs volunteers"]
