Weber State University has many resources and support services available to help students throughout the campus. One of them is the Weber Cares Pantry, run by the Basic Needs Center.
“The Food Pantry is a resource to any student, faculty, and staff who may be facing food insecurities,” said Jared Tenney, Weber State student support and resource coordinator. “Most of our inventory is food, but we do carry some hygiene items, baby products: baby food—diapers, feminine hygiene, toothbrush, shampoo, lotions, etc.”
The Weber Cares Pantry has gone through many changes.
“It first started in 2011 at the Davis campus. It changed many times throughout the years,” Tenney said. “We still have a location at the Davis Campus, but the main location is here at the Ogden campus in the library.”
The Davis campus pantry is D2 Room 262 and the Ogden campus pantry is located on the 2nd floor of Stewart Library in a small room just to the left of the staircase. Once students enter they are greeted by workers who run the pantry Monday to Friday from noon to 4 p.m..
“I really like cleaning and organizing and doing a job that feels like I’m actually helping people,” Annabelle Muster, an employee at the pantry, said.
As the new semester begins, many students are using the pantry for the very first time.
“This is my first time. I heard about it in class, and it’s really nice for the school to do this,” WSU student Denisse Moreno Rivera said.
Each time a pantry user comes in, there are certain steps taken. The user will tap their Wildcard, sign into the computer, answer some questions and the amount of food the user can take is based on the number of individuals in their household. Pantry users will then bring their items over to the scale and weigh it. First time pantry users are provided a reusable bag that they are expected to bring back every visit.
The pantry also takes in donations, one of which is during the Empty Bowls Event.
“Community members would go and create pots, and the funds for that would go towards the pantry. And then once those pots and bowls were created and all finished and finalized, they would go on sale,” Tenney said. “Community members alike can go and purchase these bowls, and the funds raised went to help the pantry.”
Students can also donate food from home, but there is a slightly longer process involved.
“The thing is about the food that we get, sometimes we get food that’s past the best-by date, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s unsafe to eat,” Muster said. “If people find foods that are past their best-by date, they can still donate them here before throwing them away, or they can look it up and see how long the foods are good for.“
The Weber Cares Pantry has more to offer than just food. The pantry has recipes to help you make food in the dorm, Safe@Weber Resource for safe sex products and the Health and Hygiene Pantry.
