With holiday breaks approaching, Christian Cafeteria and the food pantry on campus will be closed, leaving students to figure out alternate ways to get a food source and plan ahead. 

“The cafeteria being closed definitely made me feel like UCA just forgot about students like me who are a long way from home,” junior and international student Daniel Perez said. 

For many international and out-of-state students who stay on campus for breaks, the cafeteria and food pantry is their main source of food. 

“Students should get what they need from the pantry to get them through the break. We also have information about other local pantries on hand that we hand out to our clients,” food pantry coordinator Will Baker said. 

The food pantry is making strides to inform students on when they are closed so that they are able to get the food they need and know where they can go to get more for the upcoming Thanksgiving and winter breaks. 

“We will be handing out the information of the other local pantries, posting information in the pantry and on our websites. The main thing is making sure we have food in the pantry so that no Bear goes hungry,” Baker said. 

The food pantry updates their website and social media for students to see if hours change and when they are closed to make sure they’re communicating directly to students when the pantry is open. They also are posting signs in the pantry to inform the many students that rely on the pantry.

“The pantry numbers have increased overall so there wasn’t much of an increase before, during or after Fall Break. The week before Fall Break we had 104 clients, the week of Fall Break we had 109 clients and the week after Fall Break we had 113 clients,” Baker said. 

Students can donate needed items on Thursday, November 4 to participate in the Stock the Pantry food drive competition from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The food pantry is located in the Physical Plant, room 40. The pantry is open Monday and Tuesday from 11-5 p.m. and Wednesday and Thursday from 11-7 p.m. The food pantry is available for any current UCA employee or student. Students and faculty must show their UCA ID card and follow all COVID guidelines. 

If anyone needs additional information, you can contact Will Baker, the food pantry coordinator at [email protected].