On Sunday, Sept. 30, the Pastor’s Office, the Hagen Center and Student Involvement teamed up to sponsor the Campus Cupboard, a resource for university students who find themselves in need of food items or toiletries. The Cupboard is open Sundays from 12-6 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-9 p.m. During these times, the cupboard is left unlocked and unattended, so students are given free access.
According to an email sent to all Wittenberg students, the Cupboard was created “to address food insecurity on campus,” and “provides basic food and hygiene items.” Students can take whatever they may need, whether it’s a few emergency tampons or a meal a student needs to make it the next 24 hours.
The cupboard itself was placed at the foot of the stairwell in Weaver Chapel, right by the doors closest to the library. The cupboard has shelves of “Meals,” “Snacks” and “Hygiene.” The Meals shelf has rows of instant Mac and Cheese, Pho bowls and to-go containers of various cereal. The Snacks shelf displayed contains smaller food items like applesauce, peanuts and breakfast bars. The Hygiene shelf holds travel-sized deodorant, individual tampons, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
The cupboard also has reusable bags that students can take to hold their items and return later, and on the inside of one of the doors is a small notepad where students can write requests for items.
The Campus Cupboard is an incredibly vital resource that has been needed for a while. Countless students on campus will go an entire day without food because they’re too busy or they just forget. And it can be difficult for a student to scrounge together enough money or time to go to a drug store and buy something. It may not seem like a big deal in the moment, but getting food – even if it’s just a breakfast bar – is incredibly important for the health and well-being of every human being. The Cupboard will hopefully help students combat food insecurity and take what they need. It is strongly hoped that this resource will be helpful for students and won’t be abused.
