New Pirate Pantry Helps Students Facing Food Insecurity

Members of the Pirate Pantry committee (from left): Dr. Jayme Uden, associate vice president and dean of students; Laurie Gunderson, wife of Park University President Dr. Greg Gunderson and adjunct instructor of communication arts; Florenda Jarrard, assistant director of academic support; and Dr. Debra Olson-Morrison, assistant professor of social work. Michelle Forrest, executive assistant to the provost, is not pictured.

Hunger isn’t something you can see. But on college campuses nationwide, the issue is real. “It’s not uncommon for students to hide the fact that they don’t have enough to eat,” said Debra Olson-Morrison, Ph.D., assistant professor of social work. “At Park University, we are changing that.”

Food insecurity can affect students who have meal plans, jobs and receive financial aid. And yes, food insecurity affects students at Park University. But now, any Park student who needs it has access to Park’s Pirate Pantry.

If you’re not exactly sure what “food insecurity” means, here’s the definition: the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food.

“The key word in that definition, for us, is access — because at Park, access is our mission,” Jayme Uden, Ed.D., associate vice president and dean of students, said. “If we truly seek to embody our core values — accountability, civility and respect, excellence, global citizenship, inclusivity and integrity — we cannot know that students may be hungry on our campus and turn a blind eye. We must act.”

Olson-Morrison, who serves as co-chair of the Pirate Pantry committee, said the decision to create the pantry was a convergence of shared concern that sparked a collective effort. But she credits the leadership and commitment of Laurie Gunderson, J.D., wife of President Dr. Greg Gunderson, for making it happen.

“Laurie cares deeply about the well-being of students and creating equal opportunity for students to achieve their college education,” Olson-Morrison said.

“We have a responsibility to treat every student as a valued member of the Park family,” said Gunderson, who also serves as an adjunct instructor of communication arts. “We need to make sure students have everything they need to be successful — and that includes the support they need outside the classroom.”

The Gundersons invited a group of students in Park’s chapter of Phi Alpha, the national honor society in social work, to gather in their home to discuss the issue of food insecurity at the University.

With guidance from Olson-Morrison, the students conducted a brief needs assessment at Park that found that one in five Park students reported food insecurity, and 65 percent of those students reported skipping meals due to not having enough money.

The students reviewed similar research conducted at colleges and universities across the country. One study from the former Wisconsin HOPE Lab that included 66 institutions and 43,000 students reported that 36 percent of students were food insecure. A similar study found that 53 percent reported missing a class due to food insecurity, 55 percent opted out of joining extracurricular activities because they were hungry and 25 percent dropped classes due to hunger.

Some find it hard to imagine, but Olson-Morrison knows firsthand how food insecurity can happen. “Like many students, I was driven to attend college. I earned a scholarship that covered tuition, but had to work full-time to pay for room and board. The money I earned barely covered my expenses, and my family wasn’t in a position to help me financially,” she said. “There were many times when, no matter how hard I tried, things just didn’t add up and I couldn’t afford food. Like me, many students don’t have any other support network to help.”

In January 2018, the University held a “Feed the Funnel” party, in partnership with The Pack Shack, to make 10,000 meals to help feed individuals facing food insecurity in the Kansas City area. The event came about when a member of Park’s Board of Trustees, Jim Cornelius, president of institutional banking and investor services at UMB Bank, along with his wife, Bobbie, began a GoFundMe campaign in December 2017 to raise $2,500, but they raised nearly $3,600. And the Gundersons held a separate campaign that raised $3,000 for grocery gift cards to help students over the holidays.

About 7,000 of the meals were distributed to Kansas City area organizations, kitchens and pantries, while about 3,000 of the meals were held for distribution to Park students. The University subsequently opened the Pirate Pantry in October 2018 in a dedicated space inside the Intramural and Recreational Fieldhouse (Labor Hall) adjacent to Breckon Sports Center on the University’s Parkville Campus. The Pantry is open to all Park students who need it and is operated by volunteers, primarily graduate students in Park’s Master of Social Work program, along with Park staff and faculty volunteers. Undergraduate social work students also assist by stocking shelves and taking inventory.

The pantry is organized in alignment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ChooseMyPlate.gov with nonperishable food items organized into proteins, grains, fruits and vegetables. Students who visit the pantry can select a three-day supply of food, and personal hygiene items are also available.

The Pirate Pantry has been funded by donations, including major gifts from Meritas Health, North Kansas City Hospital and the Rotary Club of Parkville (Mo.) as well as food drives conducted by Park University, the City of Parkville, Mo., Northland Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., and Vineyard Church in North Kansas City, Mo.

“The Pirate Pantry is an example of the values we embrace at Park,” Laurie Gunderson said. “It demonstrates for all students what it looks like to be part of a community — and how success in life is ultimately about more than just meeting your own needs.”

How to donate to the Pirate Pantry

Donations of nonperishable food and personal hygiene items are welcome and can be dropped off in the Pirate Pantry during open hours or placed in the donation bin outside the Pirate Pantry, located in the Intramural and Recreational Fieldhouse (Labor Hall) adjacent to Breckon Sports Center on the University’s Parkville Campus. To schedule large-volume donations, e-mail pantry@park.edu. Financial donations are also accepted. For more information about the Pirate Pantry, visit park.edu/life-park/parkville/park-pantry.