Nourishing hidden needs: Chapman’s food pantry

Photo by Emma Johnson, Staff Photographer

Chapman University’s food pantry, the Panther Pantry, is a key resource, providing students with essential items and nourishing meals. The pantry addresses the often-overlooked struggle of food insecurity among students.

Food insecurity is defined as the uncertainty or inability to consistently afford or have access to sufficient food that meets one’s basic needs.

Students in higher education experience food insecurity at a higher rate than those in their communities. Between 19% to 56% of students on college campuses report experiencing food insecurity, which is four times the national average, according to the National Institute of Health. 

The Panther Pantry, a resource to combat food inequality on campus, was launched on the Orange campus in 2013 by Jerry Price, the dean of students. Staff and faculty volunteers established a pantry at the Rinker campus in 2016. Now, both pantries are managed by the department of Student Affairs.  

Justin Koppelman, the director of Student Engagement who has a doctorate in education, is one of the staff members who oversees the Panther Pantry. 

Photo by Emma Johnson, Staff Photographer

The Panther Pantry is a health and wellness resource that provides food items that can be used for a week’s worth of meals for those in the Chapman community who are experiencing food insecurity but is not to be used beyond immediate need, according to Koppelman.

“(We) want the Panther Pantry to be available as much as possible to help students with their weekly grocery needs when they’re experiencing food insecurity,” said Koppelman. “At the same time, we expect students will refrain from using the Panther Pantry for groceries when that period of food insecurity ends and supplemental support is no longer needed.”

Koppelman explained how the pantry sources its funding from the institutional budget, alongside large and small donations. The Panther Pantry was endowed in 2023 after a $1.5 million gift from Irv Chase, Nancy Chase, Allan Fainbarg and Sandy Fainbarg. Smaller donations include staff payroll deductions that go toward the pantry.  

The community of Orange also supports the Panther Pantry. The Second Harvest Food Bank of OC, a local nonprofit organizatio, supplies weekly deliveries of food and hygiene products. 

The Panther Pantry is accessible to all students, the only requirement being enrollment. The pantry operates using the honor system, counting on students to refrain from taking advantage of the free resource. 

Students simply need to complete a registration form that explains their situation and then can have their Chapman ID card encoded. 

Ellie Bickelhaupt, a junior political science major, works for Student Affairs and provides students with access to the pantry. 

“They just have to come to one of the residential support desks either in Davis Community Center or the Henley basement and have their card encoded,” said Bickelhaupt. 

Bickelhaupt listed the two different ways students can use the pantry. Single-serve visits allow students to go in and take single-serve or snack items. Grocery visits allow students to go in and get groceries, but limits are put in place. 

“They do have a limit to the amount that they are allowed to take, so they don’t have students going in and clearing out the entire pantry, but they are more than welcome to come in and get whatever they need,” she said.

Bickelhaupt shared that the pantry also accommodates specific dietary needs or even requests specific food items to be in the pantry. 

“They also provide hygienic products, which is also very vital for students to have access,” said Bickelhaupt. 

Most students who use the pantry only rely on it for a single use during the year. Last year, 545 students used the Panther Pantry at least once. According to Koppelman, 82% of those students visited for groceries once or twice, and only 18% visited for groceries 10 or more times throughout the year. 

However, Bickelhaupt says she does not see the pantry as a highly demanded resource. 

“In all honesty I do not believe it is much just because of how little I hear about it. I have never had a student come up to me in the two years I’ve been working to ask for their card to be encoded,” she said. 

Koppelman added that the pantry is not a stand-alone resource. Students who utilize the pantry are not overlooked and are offered additional resources to ensure they receive the support they need. 

“Sometimes the core of the hardship, especially if it’s a chronic or persistent one, could be more effectively addressed by a different resource than the Panther Pantry,” he said. “While visiting a Panther Pantry location isn’t a completely anonymous experience, we don’t make pantry user information publicly available.”

The Orange campus’ pantry is in room 172 at North Morlan residence hall. Their operating hours are listed on the website.