Vista Food Pantry Coming in July

It’s hard for students to learn when their stomachs are growling. According to a recent study 2 in 3 community college students are food insecure; meaning they have a limited availability of nutritionally adequate food.

With over 40 percent of Northwest Vista College students on Pell grants, NVC is hoping to address this issue by creating its very own food pantry out of the kitchen in Huisache Hall. The pantry will have a soft opening in July and should be fully functional by the fall semester.

According to Gary Bowling, who’s heading up the food pantry committee, NVC will partner with the San Antonio Food Bank to receive training to help with the initial startup. Through the Vista Hunger Relief drive and some funding from the college, food will be purchased from the San Antonio Food Bank. San Antonio College purchased around 35,000 pounds of food from the Food Bank last year.

The food pantry will be able to store both fresh produce and a variety of other foods. There will also be a series of food drives, as well a new fund started as part of the NVC Employee Giving Campaign to help keep the pantry stocked with food.

NVC’s pantry will also have oversight from several different departments and will have work study students dedicated to it. A full-time employee also will rotate in from different areas to help oversee the pantry and work study students.

According to the San Antonio Food Bank, Texas itself is ranked second in the nation for food insecurity with 1 in 6 living in food insecure homes. Additionally, since San Antonio College started its food pantry about a year ago, it has had a little more than 600 students utilize it. Students are allowed to get food essentials twice a month, and often they have lines of students at the end of the month stocking up on food.