Students joined Allie Shapiro in the Civic and Community Engagement Center on Thursday, March 13 for a service trip to the Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown. Shapiro, the Coordinator for Community Engagement, runs monthly trips to the pantry with a group of five students to assist in the distribution of pre-bagged food to over 1,500 community members that the organization serves each month.
The Community Food Pantry was established in 2009 to serve the neighboring food-insecure population. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry provided groceries and fresh produce to approximately 100-150 families. This number grew to over 1,000 during the pandemic and now sits around 520 families served monthly.
According to the Community Food Pantry webpage, “Nearly 40 percent of our neighbors are one emergency away from having to make the impossible choice of buying food, paying rent, or staying warm.”
This trend echoes post-pandemic patterns seen across the country. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2023, the percentage of food-insecure households rose from 12.8 percent in 2022 to 13.5 percent in 2023, meaning that 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households.
A 2021 survey conducted with Ramapo College students showed that 33% of Ramapo students reported experiencing some level of food insecurity. A 2022 survey conducted by the Center for Health and Counseling distributed by the ACHA-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) further found that 44.5% of students surveyed experienced low or very low food security.
“These experiences are crucial for students,” explained freshman psychology major Emily Beck, who joined Shapiro on the service trip. “These trips are not only important for personal growth, but also being able to engage with unique communities and understanding challenges in our world we may not always be hyper-aware of. Having a sense of social responsibility and finding empathy for the community is essential for future leadership and careers.”
Beck also shared her perspective on a highlight of the trip: “… being able to see at the end of the night that the shelves were almost completely cleared out with items from the pantry. Though in a way this is disappointing because it truly shows the lack of food security in our country at this time, the food we had available for these residents was put to good use and was used to support as many families as possible.”
The CCEC and student volunteers will return to the Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow and Terrytown for the last monthly distribution of the semester on Thursday, April 10.
sglisson@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @jamesjcc, Instagram
