MISSOULA, Mont. — The University of Montana’s food pantry has seen a significant spike in demand this fall as the need for food on campus is growing.
Chance LeBlanc has used food banks for most of their adult life. Now LeBlanc, the student coordinator of the food pantry, is seeing the increased need daily.
“We are seeing more visits than we’ve ever seen,” LeBlanc said. “We surpassed 300 visits in one month, which we’ve never done before.”
The pantry gave out more than 4,000 pounds of food in September, said Kat Cowley, the director of the student government’s basic needs office. That’s more than twice the amount of food distributed in September of last year.
And the surge is not letting up. The food pantry provided more than 2,800 pounds of food this month alone, Cowley said. That’s the equivalent of roughly 2,800 cans of soup.
A number of factors are contributing to the hardship surrounding food, Cowley told NBC Montana, including the cost of school and housing.
“High cost of housing, combined with higher cost for power,” she said. “Utilities have gone up, my own utilities have gone up. Food prices have increased across the board, they’re stabilizing a bit now but absolutely have not settled to prepandemic levels.”
Seeking out help is not always easy for students dealing with food insecurity.
“A lot of students feel shame in utilizing the food pantry,” LeBlanc said. “They don’t want to be in the position where they’re needing assistance, so they struggle to ask for it.”
Not having access to enough sufficient food is not unusual. Leblanc said a lot of students are not aware of just how many of their classmates are dealing with food security.
Cowley said hunger is not a rite of passage for those in college.
“My parents were not surviving on a can of beans and ramen when they were in school,” Cowley said. “They were able to provide for their needs because there was less of a mismatch between cost of living and what they were making per semester. This is not what college is supposed to feel like. We’re here to help.”
The university’s food pantry is open five days a week, with five smaller satellite locations. The satellite locations are the Blewett School of Law’s student lounge, the Missoula College’s Learning Center, the TRIO Student Support Services Office in Aber Hall, the second floor of the Payne Family Native American Center and the College of Humanities and Sciences.
Those interested in donating to the food pantry can contact the office via email. Monetary donations can be completed on the pantry’s website.