Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Minutes
The Academic Senate Committee on Committee on Food Insecurity of the Academic Senate met on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, 1:00 - 2 P.M, Zoom
Committee Members in Attendance:
In attendance: Ashlie Klepper, Emily SohmerTai, Jonathan Cornick, Christopher Roblodowski, Lorraine Cupelli, Angela Gmuca,
Liaisons in Attendance:
Ms. Ronni Weprin, Administrative Liaison
Ms. Amawati Gonesh, Advocacy Resource Center
Business:
The meeting was called to order at 1:00 PM
The December meeting Minutes were approved by the committee
Discussion
There is sound coverage for the Spring semester due to an increase in volunteers
which has allowed for additional hours to be added to the Tuesday schedule (11-12 and 3-4)
Library desk will continue to serve as backup when pantry is closed and will hold pre-packaged bags for students as needed, these proved useful during the winter break and should be promoted during summer hours
Students are encouraged to volunteer as long as there is supervision from a faculty or staff volunteer
Ronni is working closely with Marketing and Communication to post information on website
Discussion around having students act as marketing agents for their peers, normalizing food pantry visits in order to make students feel more comfortable
The more events are organized the more normalized it will become for students to visit the food pantry
Discussion around the number of items that students are allowed to take, should hot ticket items like milk, be limited?
Should a spring drive be organized for collection of milk?
As cost of food increases, discuss with VP Mitra ability to allocate Petrie Funds toward purchase of food
Discussion around the importance of checking expiration dates on donated items and protocol for items that are damaged or going bad, restocking
Donations in the form of $ for feminine hygiene products are most welcome and can be made by venmo to Ashlie, she will take care of purchasing and stocking these items
Ashlie will type up a list of items to include when pre-packing bags for distribution
A Spring Food Drive is in the plans with details to follow, and requests for volunteers to help with unpacking deliveries and bags for distribution
Monkworx Social Services delivered by truck non-perishable food items, special thanks to Magdeline from B&G for her assistance
Email communication was sent to student government, no response to date
- Continue with a sign in sheet
- Continue with checking students ID
- Give entry to one student at a time to allow for privacy
Respectfully submitted,
Angela Gmuca
Committee on Committee on Food Insecurity of the Academic Senate, Secretary
