RamPantry: Students working to make a difference for their peers
Recently, I had the great privilege of meeting a group of students who inspired me. They are wonderful students from all levels — freshmen to graduate — and various disciplines who are making a real difference for many at Virginia Commonwealth University.
These students operate what’s called the Ram Pantry, a place on campus where students who need a little help can find the resources they need. Ram Pantry stocks healthy food like fresh produce, milk, bread, pasta and canned goods, along with hygiene supplies, that some students are simply unable to access otherwise.
They are meeting a real need. These students opened Ram Pantry in early 2014; in the year since, they have served more than 1,800 of their fellow students, faculty and staff. They have also conducted surveys that show that 57 percent of respondents struggle daily with food insecurities, which means they are not sure where their next meal is coming from. This percentage is comparable to what other U.S. colleges are finding.
The students behind Ram Pantry have worked quickly. A year ago, their idea began with simple food drives on the Monroe Park Campus. While many contributed, donations did not match the need. These students knew they needed sustainable resources, and have since partnered with Food Lion grocery stores, Panera Bread, Sauer’s Spices, Shalom Farms, SoapBox Soaps and others to keep pantry shelves stocked. VCU School of the Arts, VCU School of Dentistry and Barnes & Noble @ VCU have also provided supplies and support. The students hold cooking classes and are working to publish a cookbook to help those they assist use their food in the best ways, and they hope to begin a community garden that would yield fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.
So impressed has been Food Lion that senior executives from the grocery chain have asked VCU to serve as an example for universities near the company’s North Carolina headquarters.
Those closer to home are beginning to take notice of Ram Pantry’s efforts, too. Recently, a woman named Barbara contacted Taylor Thompson, an interdisciplinary studies senior who serves as president of the Ram Pantry. Taylor did not know Barbara, a member of the community who found Ram Pantry online and wanted to help. So Barbara dropped off $300 worth of groceries. A few weeks later, another large donation. Then another. Then another.
Taylor soon learned that Barbara is the mother of two proud VCU alumni, and she wanted to give back to the university that has given so much to her family.
In my recent State of the University address, I mentioned that one of the ways that VCU is distinctive among nationally premier research universities is that what we do here has a real impact on the communities we serve, including each other. In other words, we make it real.
These students serve as a wonderful example of that.
What they are doing touched me because it embodies everything I believe in and everything that’s inherently important about VCU and Quest. I hope the experience that our students have here will always been one that encourages you to use your strengths to help others.
For more on Ram Pantry, or to help, please visit their website or contact Terrence Walker at
[email protected].