The UTRGV Food Pantry is currently fully stocked and serving students on both campuses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry is supplying students with ample goods and prepares for schedule changes in the following days.
Student Food Pantry Coordinator Jacquelyn Herrera said the food pantry is taking it day by day.
“As of right now, we don’t really know what’s gonna happen within the next few days with the county going under a mandated lockdown,” Herrera said.
The food pantry is open during its regular times of 2 to 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 1 to 4 p.m. Fridays on both campuses.
However, Herrera said the pantries’ schedule is subject to change.
Asked if there have been any changes to the pantries’ operations due to COVID-19, Herrera replied, “We are implementing the six-feet, like, rule. We don’t let anybody in our office. We service them and they wait out in the lobby. We are always wiping down our surfaces and cleaning our floors. Everything with a Clorox wipe and spraying Lysol all the time. So, we are taking those precautionary measures just to ensure the safety and the wellness of our students and of ourselves.”
The food pantry is only available to UTRGV students. Students must be enrolled in at least one UTRGV course and must bring their student ID to receive services.
“Looking to see ways that we can still serve students while minimizing contact is the next challenge,” Douglas Stoves, associate dean for Student Rights and Responsibilities, replied when asked how the pantry is coping with the pandemic. “We know, now more than ever, students need our assistance.”
Before the pandemic, the food pantry served about 60 to 75 students a week, Herrera said. Recently, that number has decreased.
“It has gone down a little bit, definitely,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it has gone down half the number, but it has gone down. We don’t know if the students living in the dorms left back home or, you know, we don’t really know what’s going on with our students.”
In light of the pandemic, the food pantry is giving out more goods to students, Herrera said.
“We are giving a little more out,” she said. “You know, like, we give out more orange juice and more water and more oranges just because we don’t really know if we’re going to close. So, we are giving out more items than usual.”
Students who want to donate to the food pantry may do so on either campus and, due to the circumstances, may drop off the items without making contact with staff.
“Of course, because of everything, we’re not going around checking bins,” Stoves said. “I don’t want to encourage people to come to campus. They can always donate cash so that we can purchase the things we need.”
The pantry is currently stocked with water, orange juice, rice, chili, pastas, pasta sauces, fruit, dried fruits, nuts, salmon, chicken thighs, cheese, peanut butter, peaches, etc.
Herrera said the only shortage at the pantries, so far, is ramen noodles.
Asked if there are any plans to limit the amount of food per student, Stoves replied, “Yes, there will be a limit. Students will get anywhere from 8 to 40 pounds. Just depends what we have on the shelves.”
Stoves encourages students to contact food banks directly to find distribution sites that are closer to their homes due to the recent lockdown issued by Hidalgo and Cameron counties.
Asked if he had a message for students, Stoves replied, “For people to take good care and to know that we’re here to help if they need it.”
Students who would like updates on the food pantries’ hours within the next few weeks may follow its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/utrgvstudentfoodpantry/.
