Our mission is to provide nutritious food and necessities for University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff in need and to fight food insecurity through education and advocacy.
The Food Pantry at Iowa started after a group of University of Iowa students saw a pressing issue: peers at the University of Iowa were going hungry, unable to pay for the necessities to survive, and attend college at the same time. In response to this, a group of passionate and motivated undergraduate students banded together to form the Food Pantry Steering Committee. The Food Pantry Steering Committee laid the groundwork for establishing the Food Pantry at Iowa. The Steering Committee began by collecting basic statistics on food insecurity at the University of Iowa, finding a place to house the food pantry, garnering funding and support, and much more. After a full year of hard work and persistence, the Food Pantry at Iowa was successfully established at the Iowa Memorial Union. The Food Pantry at Iowa was first opened to the University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff at the beginning of the Fall 2016 semester.
The Food Pantry at Iowa firmly believes that healthy food is a basic human right. Food accessibility and affordability are very important for college students to survive, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and to concentrate in classes. We believe that no University of Iowa student, faculty, or staff member should have to go hungry or sacrifice a healthy diet.
The Food Pantry at Iowa aims to not only provide resources for food-insecure college students, faculty, and staff but also aims to raise awareness about the important issue of college food insecurity. By hosting hunger awareness events throughout the year like food drives, hunger banquets, and cooking demos, Food Pantry at Iowa is fighting for a change. Anyone on campus can get involved in the fight against food insecurity, regardless of their position. Together, the University of Iowa can make a change for the better.
Please drop off any donations to the Welcome Desk inside the IMU between 8-5 am.
ProducePedia
ProducePedia is a free resource that covers the types of fresh produce that can be delivered to food pantries. Each entry includes information on color, taste, and possible uses. People unfamiliar with the vegetable or fruit will learn how to use it, and those who are familiar with it still might learn a fun fact or two!
The Cooperative Extension sites have a wealth of information for any backyard gardener. Once you go to the site (each one if very different from the others) look for a link for “homes and gardens”, “landscape”, “consumer horticulture”, etc. to find information on improving your backyard garden. Neighboring state sites may offer information your own state’s site lacks.
