With the current state of SNAP benefits, it’s important to look to local pantries for help. Here at Owens, the Harvest Food Pantry is open from 8a.m.-5p.m throughout the week, and is always available for those in need. Non-perishable food items as well as fresh produce and meats are stocked, along with snack carts located around various buildings on campus.
Krista Kiessling, Director of Campus and Community Connections here at the Perrysburg campus, had a chance to sit down and talk about her role and all of the ways that the department helps students in need. Along with the food pantry, Kiessling leads other areas of community outreach.
“The center includes the food pantry, career closet, campus free store, the connection mentor program, the community garden outside and the apiary.”
She also had a chance to speak about how the pantry is sourced and how recent events have affected demand.
“We partner with the Toledo Seagate Food Bank, providing all of their donations to us at no cost, which is tremendous, but their supply has been cut short recently. For [Toledo] Northwest, we pay a per pound fee, but it’s still only a few hundred dollars. They get a lot of their donations from local grocery stores. Usually, we get shipments every two to three weeks, but we have and increased frequency right now. Last week, I would have told you it hadn’t really affected us yet, but I think the fact that SNAP was supposed to be dispersed over the weekend, we’ve definitely had people kind of panicking and coming in to make sure they have food items for their families.”
Lastly, Kiessling spoke about where she hopes the pantry goes in the future.
“We noticed that sometimes we might have 10 visits a week, or maybe sometimes 10 a day. We had 23 visits today. But it’s not just an uptick in pantry items. We always have a crockpot with hot food, and more people are coming in to have a meal… My big dream would be that somebody walked in here and said, You no longer need to do this job, because there was no longer a need. I’m very happy with the level of support we have on this campus for this kind of work. But my realistic plan would be to increase awareness so that every single student that comes here, whether they need us or not, at least knows that it’s here and can let other students know it’s here. But yeah, ultimately, I would love to be put out of a job, and to not have any hungry students in our community.”
Kiessling and her team can be found in College Hall 151, and along with the food pantry, they offer many other services for those in need. If you or someone you know is in need, please be sure to visit the pantry and get into contact with the team there. For more information, visit https://www.owens.edu/connection/needs/.
