According to the Food Aid Foundation, 795 million people in the world do not have access to enough food to live a healthy lifestyle. In New Jersey alone, 13 percent of people are food insecure, according to End Hunger NJ.
In a local effort to offset the hunger epidemic, Kean has recently created the Cougar Pantry. This pantry will give students in need access to a collection of non-perishable foods and products for health and hygiene.
The Cougar Pantry is located in Room 211 of the Human Rights Institute (HRI), a center at Kean dedicated to bringing attention to human rights issues and inspiring others to advocate for a better world.
To receive food from the Cougar Pantry, appointments can be made by contacting cougarpantry@kean.edu. Any requests made to the pantry will remain completely confidential from the public.
There are also drop-in hours once a week when students will be able to visit the Cougar Pantry without an appointment. These hour take place every Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m.
Those looking to add to the hunger-ending efforts can bring their donations of non-perishable foods, health and hygiene products to the HRI.
To give students a convenient and accessible way to supplement the contributions, there are multiple boxes adorned with the Cougar Pantry name and logo located throughout the center where any donations can be dropped off.
In conjunction with the Cougar Pantry, Kean is also starting a new Food Recovery Program, which will distribute any food leftover from campus events to students. To become part of this program, interested students should text "@keanfood" to the number 81010. Those who do so will subsequently receive a reply with instructions to complete enrollment.
For more information on the Cougar Pantry, please contact Lauretta Farrell, the director of the Human Rights Institute, at lafarrel@kean.edu. Additionally, more information on the Human Rights Institute can be found on Cougar Link.
