HOUSTON - Lone Star College-University Park is proud to announce the opening of Leo’s Shelf, an on-site food pantry designed to serve campus community members with free grab-and-go meals and snacks, as well as nonperishable pantry items and personal hygiene products.

An April 2019 national survey and published report from the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice¹ estimate 48% of community college students and 41% of university students are food insecure or do not know where their next meal is coming from. Food insecurity is a stressor common across college campuses nationwide and is affecting millions of students. While experts cannot determine the full consequences of such rampant food insecurity, this report suggests there is a link to lower graduation rates.

“At LSC-University Park, our students’ well-being and their success are the highest priorities for administrators, faculty, and staff,” said Dr. Shah Ardalan, LSC-University Park president. “Leo’s Shelf is another faculty-led initiative focused on removing barriers such as food insecurity for our students.” 

The addition of Leo’s Shelf is the latest in LSC-University Park’s approach to tackling food insecurity. LSC-University Park embraced the SNAP Challenge, visits from the Houston Food Bank (HFB) Mobile Food Pantry and sponsored several other food-insecurity initiatives. 

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, assumes a monthly benefit of $192 for a family of one. The SNAP Challenge, which lasted five days, raised awareness of the difficulty of obtaining food each day for $6.40 and called for participants to purchase all food, including dining out, to be part of the total spending. Participants were directed not to eat any food purchased before the start of the challenge and avoid accepting any free food from family, friends, and co-workers.

In collaboration with Communities In Schools (CIS), a national campus-based, dropout prevention program that provides direct social services and community resources to at-risk students, LSC hosts the HFB Mobile Food Pantry. The Mobile Food Pantry visits every semester and acts as a farmer’s market on wheels, delivering over 12,500 pounds of fresh fruit and produce to students, employees and community members during each visit. At the Mobile Food Pantry’s latest visit to the college 1,094 family members were served in just three hours.  

To stock Leo’s Shelf in December 2019, the college’s Student Learning Resource Center (SLRC) established a “Food for Fines” initiative. The SLRC accepted nonperishable pantry items in lieu of overdue library fines. The college also hosted the Leo’s Shelf Sculpture Competition for students, faculty, and staff. Materials for the sculptures included canned food and personal hygiene products, which all served as starter stock for the pantry. 

“We understand that food insecurity is a real issue and Leo’s Shelf is an acknowledgment of the problem,” said Cassandra Khatri, political science professor and campus coordinator for the Office of Civic Engagement. “I am so grateful to LSC-University Park administration and the campus community for their support, time and donations, which allowed us to open with a stocked pantry.”

Students have already begun benefiting from Leo’s Shelf. One student shared her appreciation for the service on campus, “It’s a tough place for me right now. I have to make a choice most days to feed myself or my kids, the choice is always easy as my kids always eat first. I was hungry, but I didn't want to admit it because I was honestly ashamed. I was invited in by a faculty member and she made me so comfortable that I told her I had not had anything to eat since the evening before.” Other students are asking how they can contribute, demonstrating true campus spirit and a desire to give back to their community.

Leo’s Shelf was created by the campus-wide Food Insecurity Task Force and will be managed by faculty and staff volunteers. To address additional needs, three CIS-affiliated, master’s level counseling professionals also work with members of the campus community to access longer-term food insecurity solutions, such as getting eligible students signed up for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or SNAP. 

Leo’s Shelf will be stocked via donations, the retention of food not distributed during the HFB Mobile Food Pantry delivery, and through a potential relationship with a local supermarket or merchant. 

For more information about Leo’s Shelf, please visit Room B13.210B or email UP-LeosShelf@LoneStar.edu.

^{1 https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/HOPE_realcollege_National_report_digital.pdf}