Establishing a university food pantry: growth, changes in shopper characteristics and recommendations

Objective: Describe trends in usage and shoppers of Eastern Michigan University's (EMU) food pantry over four academic years. Participants: Shoppers of EMU's pantry between September 2015 and April 2019. Methods: Data come from shopper questionnaires and pantry records of daily visits and food distribution. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and chi-square analyses were used to explore shopper characteristics and pantry use over time. Results: Pantry use increased over four academic years (from 1,021 to 3,080 visits/year). An increasing proportion of shoppers use the pantry ≥ once/month (6.1% in 2015/2016; 15.1% in 2018/2019). Compared to irregular shoppers (≤7 visits/year), regular shoppers (≥8 visits) reported higher rates of housing instability and were less likely to have a university meal plan. Conclusion: Data revealed substantial growth of the campus pantry, likely reflecting greater awareness and greater need. The findings highlight financial and social challenges faced by Michigan's college students. Recommendations for pantry establishment/maintenance are indicated.