Deaconess Betsy Karkan announced the opening of Pillars Pantry during the month of September via email to the CUC community. September is also National Hunger Awareness Month. The opening of the Pillars Pantry was sparked by the statistic of 1 in 5 college students do not have sufficient access to food. “The Pillars Pantry is a new initiative by Concordia University Chicago to help students persist to graduation by helping alleviate food security”, as stated by Karkan. The grand opening of the Pillars Pantry was on September 30th. The grand opening came after the announcement of a food drive competition that ended on October 5th. The food drive had almost 200 food item donations from faculty, students, and staff. Food items that can be donated to the Pillars Pantry include non-perishables like canned foods, cereal, pasta, etc.
Food insecurity is more common for college students during holiday breaks for those who cannot return home for the holidays. It can also be applied to those who cannot afford food at home because they do not have access to on-campus dining facilities. If you or anyone you know is struggling with hunger or you want to learn more about Pillars Pantry and how you can help, please visit cuchicago.edu/PillarsPantry or email Betsy Karkan at Betsy.Karkan@cuchicago.edu.
