Houstonian: SHSU Discusses Location for Food Pantry

An interesting piece from Tuesday's (Jan. 22) Houstonian about finding a location for the on-campus food pantry:

The pantry is adopting a student organization model, which will allow students to be in charge of its actions and provisions.

Vice President for Student Services Frank Parker said the program has received support from both students and school faculty. Parker expressed support for the program in late December, while the faculty senate has backed the pantry since its inception.

“Space on this campus is at a premium,” said Parker. “When we look at spaces, some of the issues that we think about are spaces that retain [a student’s] anonymity, spaces where students come and go and that are available and open on the weekend.”

While the committee talked about specific venues on campus for the pantry, they failed to comment on which facilities were in mind.

“I think it would be disrespectful to the people responsible for those sights to say anything more specific before we talk to them,” said Parker.

The pantry was created for students who are unable to afford balanced meals and provide volunteer and networking opportunities for students.  It received approval as a new student organization in October 2012, and hopes to be available to students by Fall 2013.