The local food pantry on the Richland Campus has remained unaffected through continued economic strain and remains duly committed to providing assistance to students enduring financial hardships.
Within a few months of President Biden taking office, inflation began to steadily spiral higher, depleting American’s savings accounts and ratcheting up their credit card debt. Another crisis North Texas food pantries are expected to face is that the surge in undocumented migrants crossing the U.S. southern border continues to grow. There is a food pantry at each Dallas College campus in addition to two satellite locations. The food pantry at Richland, located in El Paso Hall in room E030, is a solution to many students who worry about where their next meal might come from.
Marcelo Mendoza, a food pantry worker going on three months, said the food pantry expects to handle possible challenges on the horizon. Mendoza said the pantry is here to help students, staff and local residents receive food. All students and staff are welcome to use the Food Pantry. The only thing required is a student, staff or faculty ID. Local residents and anyone outside of campus are allowed access on Fridays. With regard to recent events, Mendoza said, “We are not always anticipating more demand but we could always use more volunteers.”
Alma Olguin, student care coordinator under the Student Needs department, was also able to provide some insight on how the pantry performs year-round and what students can do to help out.
Questions concerning food pantry performance amid record high inflation and the surge in migrants were also addressed. Olguin said inflation has increased the demand for the food pantries services but has not put strain on the pantry itself.
“The biggest problem is not demand for our services but rather the fact that many students do not know we exist. This negatively affects the pantry since we cannot provide assistance to those who need it, nor can we get the volunteers necessary to help out on food drives. The holidays are the busiest time of the year for us, especially before breaks because people want to get as much as they can before we close up.”
As far as day-to-day operations go, the pantry is currently fully staffed and always stocked. Donations come from students and faculty at Richland as well as companies like Yellow Heart of Texas, H-E-B, Food Pantry of Dallas and North Texas Food Bank. Donations come in the form of food, money, clothes, diapers and other supplies. Both Olguin and Mendoza explained the importance of students volunteering, donating and spreading word about the pantry.
There is little concern about how the pantry will perform under the stress of high inflation and high immigration. Currently, the pantry is fully staffed with donations coming in regularly.
Demand is not expected to outpace supply. However, there is concern over how well the pantries’ presence is known among students. The students can help by donating not just supplies, but also their time and thought. This would greatly help the food pantries’ performance.
