Argo Pantry helps feed hungry UWF students
- May 15, 2015
- / Louis Cooper
- / education
The Argo Pantry offers food and personal care items to University of West Florida students because, sometimes, life just happens.
“I am employed, but sometimes the pay periods don’t fall the way you’d like them to,” said Blair Luchte, a 20-year-old professional legal services major.
“I was in-between pay checks,” Luchte said. “After I had paid for my rent and electricity and all of the basic necessities I needed just to get to school, I didn’t have enough money to really cover food.”
Understandably, she had to battle a little ego to get up the nerve to ask for help.
“Like many students, I was really concerned about using it, I guess, out of slight embarrassment about being in the situation that I was in, but they make you very comfortable,” she said. “They make sure you know that there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
[sidebar]
Items for use by students in the Argo Pantry at the University of West Florida.(Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today)[/caption]
Students who need food may visit the Argo Pantry, located in the Student Services Building Room 130 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To be eligible for help, the applicant must be an enrolled student at UWF.
“If a student comes in and asks for assistance, assistance is provided,” Wiley said.
All of the food the pantry gives away is donated by groups such as the psychology department, the Student Government Association, the math department, the College of Social Work, the environmental studies department and the anthropology department. Follett Book Store provides bags.
“We have also had a few donations from the local community,” Wiley said. “In fact, a donation was received (recently) from a family in Crestview.”
This summer, the need has the potential to grow as the main student dining facility, the Nautilus Market, closed May 4 for renovations and isn’t expected to reopen before Aug. 8.
In the meantime, meal options include the Argo Galley, which is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Starbucks, which is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Luchte is glad the pantry is there for those who need it.
“Many of my friends have used the Argo Pantry on my recommendation and they’re fully employed,” she said. “Sometimes, life just happens.”
Want to help?
The Argo Pantry accepts donations Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UWF Student Services Office in Building 21. Items the pantry tries to keep in stock include: Food: Canned meat, canned fish, canned vegetables, canned soups, canned fruit (single serving), grits (1 pound package or single serving), pasta, rice (1 pound bags), peanut butter, crackers, ramen noodles, cereal (personal size), dried beans (1 pound package), pudding and Jell-O cups, fruit cups, microwave popcorn, granola bars, breakfast bars, dried milk and pasta sauce. Personal care items: Toilet paper, boxed tissue, moisturizer/lotion, antibacterial hand cleanser, mouthwash, feminine hygiene and sandwich-size zip-top bags. [/sidebar] UWF Associate Dean of Students Lusharon Wiley led the effort to open the pantry in fall 2013. The goal of the Argo pantry is to provide healthy food and personal care items to currently enrolled UWF students who are in need of assistance. There have been more than 300 visits by students to the Pantry since its inception, Wiley said. “Usage from fall 2014 to spring 2015 more than tripled," Wiley said. "As more and more students and faculty become aware of this campus resource, the greater the usage has been.” Much of the student body at UWF could be considered poor. About 40 percent of students there receive Pell Grants, the federal financial aid program aimed at the most financially needy. The average students who receives a Pell Grant comes from a family with an income of 123 percent of the federal poverty level. That means a family of four would live on about $30,000 annually. [caption id="attachment_23340" align="alignright" width="450"]
Items for use by students in the Argo Pantry at the University of West Florida.(Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today)[/caption]
Students who need food may visit the Argo Pantry, located in the Student Services Building Room 130 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To be eligible for help, the applicant must be an enrolled student at UWF.
“If a student comes in and asks for assistance, assistance is provided,” Wiley said.
All of the food the pantry gives away is donated by groups such as the psychology department, the Student Government Association, the math department, the College of Social Work, the environmental studies department and the anthropology department. Follett Book Store provides bags.
“We have also had a few donations from the local community,” Wiley said. “In fact, a donation was received (recently) from a family in Crestview.”
This summer, the need has the potential to grow as the main student dining facility, the Nautilus Market, closed May 4 for renovations and isn’t expected to reopen before Aug. 8.
In the meantime, meal options include the Argo Galley, which is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Starbucks, which is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Luchte is glad the pantry is there for those who need it.
“Many of my friends have used the Argo Pantry on my recommendation and they’re fully employed,” she said. “Sometimes, life just happens.”
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