NORFOLK, Va. — Since its inception in 2020, the Monarch Pantry, located in the Webb Center at Old Dominion University has seen a dramatic increase in use. In the beginning, it served 400 students per semester.
Now, it serves as many as 3,000 students every semester.
Britney Kouassi, a senior biology major, work in the campus' pantry, making sure everything is well-stocked when students come through.
"It mean so much to see students be able to get the resources the need each week," she told News 3's Jay Greene.
Every Tuesday, students can pick up free groceries including fresh fruits and vegetables, canned goods and toiletries.
"As a student, I've used it myself and it means so much to be able to get resources that I might need to supplement what I have at home," said Kouassi.
Kara Boone, the assistant director for service-learning at the center for career and leadership development, says the pantry sees more than 200 students come through each week. That number is only expected to grow as times goes on.
"Groceries are more expensive. Rent is expensive. A lot of students are feeling that, and so I think that increases the need for a food pantry and for support," Boone told Greene.
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Boone said the most popular items students pick up are fresh produce followed by canned goods and toiletries.
Most of that support comes from community donations.
"If we didn't have the community, many of our shelves would not be full on a regular basis," Boone said. "We were contacted by a wonderful community member, and she just asked if she could kind of lead a food drive in the community for us, and she wanted to just do some good in the area, and wanted to support us."
Within a matter of days, a cart full items was donated to the pantry.
But sometimes, keeping the shelves stocked, even with donations, is tough, especially grocery prices continue to soar.
"The demand for needing support goes up when grocery prices increase, but also we're receiving less donations because the person who may be able to an extra can of soup can't anymore," Boone said.
Recent studies show anywhere between 30 percent to 50 percent of college students on campuses across the country can't afford the food they need to keep a well-balanced diet. Some need to skip meals.
Watch related coverage: Local, national food insecurity on the rise
In January, a handful of Virginia lawmakers introduced the Hunger Free-Campus Act. It aims to help private and public college campuses in the commonwealth fund their food pantries.
State Delegate Bonita Anthony (D), who represents portions of Norfolk and Chesapeake, is a co-patron on HB2240.
"Everything is getting more expensive, and so we just have to make sure that we bite this elephant. And this is one of the way we can bite the elephant by impacting our college students, young or old," Del. Anthony said. "And it helps institutions to help mitigate those challenges."
Watch related coverage: Universities open food pantries in effort to curb food insecurity
It aligns with HJR 447, a food mapping initiative to better understand food deserts. It's also being championed by Del. Anthony, who is an ODU alum and former faculty member.
HJR 447 aims to inspire action and provide a more accurate picture of food insecurity using geographic, social, economic, and demographic data.
"It's not just measuring proximity to a grocery store...we're throwing out that old definition of food desert. But it's also going to consider transportation access, access to other community resources like food pantries, community fridges, community gardens, so we can provide a more accurate picture of food insecurity at a granular level," Del. Anthony said. "So both of these bills, as well as some other initiatives that have been, going through the House and the Senate side as well, are very important to mitigate those challenges of food insecurity here in the Commonwealth of Virginia."
Back at ODU, Britney Kouassi say the pantry's presence is important to make sure her fellow students have the energy to succeed.
For more information on how to donate to Monarch Pantry, click or tap here.
