Lessons learned from piloting decentralized, smart miniature food pantries to mitigate college student food insecurity

Abstract

Food insecurity on college campuses is a persistent challenge that has recently emerged as significant on a national level. Campus officials across the U.S. are beginning to launch campus food pantries to mitigate food insecurity among their student popu­lations. However, emerging scholarship suggests that many college students may not be aware of their campus food pantry. This reflective essay presents preliminary lessons learned from an on­going pilot program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to mitigate student food inse­curity. Launched in October 2021, the program deployed 13 miniature food pantries across both VCU campuses. These pantries allowed decen­tralized, anonymous access to emergency food on a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week basis. The research team developed a partnership with the regional food bank to ensure a stable pipeline of food for the pilot. A combination of service learning and work-study students restocked the pantries weekly, while simultaneously collecting observational data on pantry operations. Wi-Fi enabled door sensors built into the pantry boxes to collect anonymized data when individuals opened a pantry door. The authors reflect on the challenges to implementing the pilot program, with a specific focus on navigat­ing the university’s bureaucracy, information tech­nology issues related to the development of the sensor network, establishing a stable pipeline of food, day-to-day management, and the difficulties of expansion. The paper ends with a number of recommendations. Higher education faculty and staff interested in deploying similar campus mutual food pantry systems may find this reflective essay informative.