From classroom to community: INT 100 students make an impact at Replenish

"Food insecurity is an issue for a lot of students, so the goal was twofold," said Cope. "Not every student who comes through my class is going to be food insecure, but because there's so much of a shame culture around not being able to provide for yourself, I thought, 'Let's introduce this in a really friendly way that reduces that and shows how to get involved with caring for one another.' And if anyone is dealing with this, now they've walked there and know how to find it, which reduces a barrier."

The class met at the Center for Women and Gender Equity, where assistant director Mimi Sperl explained how pantry usage has increased since late October when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments were paused. Nearly 50 new users have signed up for Replenish since then, she said, compared to only 19 in the two weeks prior.

A lot of the work that gets done for Replenish is inventory, explained Paige Hannum, a Replenish student intern, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in applied food and nutrition and a master's degree in clinical dietetics. "We go through donations, then write down what we received and how much, and organize based on expiration date," Hannum explained.