Tucked away in a closet-like space on Smith Memorial Student Union’s third floor is a unique charity operation known as the food pantry. Organized and facilitated by the Associated Students of Portland State University, the pantry is stocked with items ranging from foodstuffs to clothing to hygiene products, all from donations.
Tucked away in a closet-like space on Smith Memorial Student Union’s third floor is a unique charity operation known as the food pantry. Organized and facilitated by the Associated Students of Portland State University, the pantry is stocked with items ranging from foodstuffs to clothing to hygiene products, all from donations.
A volunteer-run operation, the pantry assists Portland State students in need of food, clothing and health-related items. Students, following an honor system, can take up to five items per day. However, the honor system policy has raised some questions about the purpose of the program.
Currently, volunteers are not required to check student IDs, which raises questions about the security of the pantry and its customer base. Because of this policy, the pantry attracts non-PSU members of the Portland community. A junior psychology student, who wished to remain anonymous, feels that open access to the pantry can create an unsafe environment. “I felt concerned about [my] welfare,” she said, adding that she had concerns about showing the pantry to others. She noted her experiences of encountering drunk persons mingling about in the pantry room. “My safety and the safety for others is in question and was definitely in question [one day when] I was there with a toddler,” the student added.
According to ASPSU Operations Director Kate Helligso, the food pantry’s policy is to serve anyone who requires assistance. “As part of a thriving urban campus, we serve the community and strive to serve those in need. Volunteers do, however, gently remind people using the pantry that this is a service prioritized for PSU students,” Helligso said.
“Many students at PSU are facing homelessness themselves, and we find it important not to be shaming of those who utilize our pantry by asking for their names or information. We have always had enough items to serve the students who use the pantry,” Helligso added.
Mixing a student food pantry with accessibility to homeless people is the primary cause for some students’ concern. “I am all about helping people and the homeless; however, this is for students in a student building,” the student said. Additionally, she expressed concern regarding the possible unpredictability of homeless persons. “I could not imagine a student getting out of hand, they have too much to lose. They attend school here. What does a homeless person have to lose?” she said. “The other student I showed the pantry to will not go unless I go up with her because she was freaked about these other people just coming and going,” the student added.
Not all students see the pantry in that way, though. Freshman Spanish major Alex Cribbs didn’t know about the pantry’s existence, but said he would have no problem going despite the possible presence of homeless persons. “I don’t mind homeless people, they are people just like us, and if I could get free food that would save my parents money,” Cribbs said.
According to Helligso, the number of pantry student volunteers factors into the challenges of setting up an accountability system. “We have over 50 student volunteers, and at this time we do not have measures of accountability for all of our busy volunteers,” she said. The pantry’s purpose remains helping needy people, she added. “Issues like staffing, stocking, renovating and advertising the student pantry are our priorities at the time,” she said.
The food pantry began in 2009. “In its first operating year, the pantry consisted of shelves outside our office in SMSU 117 and was stocked by student, faculty and department donations,” Helligso said. “By August 2010, ASPSU was able to secure an unused utilities closet on the third floor of Smith.”
She added that “the student pantry is a direct and tangible way ASPSU is able to serve our fellow PSU students.”
The pantry doesn’t use any sort of PSU student fees, according to Helligso. “We rely on donations alone, even for our storage and shelving, which is all recycled from department renovations,” she said. “All of the items in the pantry are donated, and it is staffed by volunteer students, so no student funds are involved in the pantry.”
I use the food pantry all the time. I’ve never seen a drunk person. Maybe the lone student complaining in this “article” was referring to me as a homeless person, since I can’t afford nice clothes. The Vanguard should be ashamed of itself for publishing this.
PSU is an urban college with a permeable campus located in the city center of a city with a high number of homeless residents in a state ranked third in the nation for homelessness (http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/hatecrimes_factsheets/oregon.html). It is unrealistic to expect to never interact with a homeless individual while attending PSU. In fact, the concerned student may interact with more homeless people than she thinks; my junior year one of my classmates had attended school while homeless the previous year-he spent a lot of time studying in the warm library!
The pantry is not supported by student fees, I see no reason why the pantry which is providing student volunteers with experience providing organizational and service skills needs to be restricted to students only. PSU talks a lot about being part of the community and serving the city. This is immediate direct service to the community. I support the pantry’s policies to provide service to students and the greater community.
Persons under the influence of drugs or alcohol can be dealt with by calling campus security. Having clear policies, and discussing tactics with staff may help alleviate the nervousness that homelessness seems to incite in the general public. Perhaps post the location of the nearest campus phone with the necessary number and building location reminder.
Don’t make homelessness and poverty the problem. Those in need already have enough challenges. The shame lies in state run schools that are so expensive that the student population goes hungry.
This is an awesome self generated resource run by compassion and good will. Don’t turn it into a privelege position debate.
I have volunteered for the Food Pantry for the past two years and never once encountered someone who was noticeably intoxicated or bothersome.
Remember to take into account the non-zero number of homeless students at PSU.