Food Pantry Feature: The Store

George Washington University’s (GW) on-campus food pantry, The Store, has been a staple institution since it opened in September 2016. The Store was a graduate student’s project inspired by increasing recognition of national college food insecurity. This trend has only continued to grow in recent years, making The Store more of a necessity on GW’s campus each semester. The Hope Center in their 2023 -2024 Student Basic Needs Survey Report found that  41% of college students nationwide struggled with food insecurity compared to 34% in the fall of 2020.

The Store serves a significant portion of the GW student body. In the 2023-2024 year, there were 652 registered shoppers, and we distributed more than 28,000 pounds of food. Shoppers can shop at the Store Monday through Thursday from 12-6 PM and Friday from 2-8 PM. The newly-added evening hours on Friday ensure that the Store is accessible for students who work full time or may have difficulties coming during regular business hours. This year, The Store has transitioned to a fully staffed model where there is always a staff member present to greet shoppers, ask and answer questions, and walk them through the Store check out procedure. To access the Store, shoppers only have to show their GW identification card and fill out a short survey. Once they check in, shoppers use shopping baskets and select items in the Store that they need within specified limits. The Store is stocked monthly with pantry staples from the DC food bank, and is stocked twice weekly with fresh food items from local grocery stores purchased at full price. The Store also receives daily bread donations from a store located on GW’s campus.

Each year, the Store has continued to see increased demand from shoppers due to growing trends of food insecurity among college students. In the first month that the Store has been open in the 2024-2025 school year, we have already had over 1,000 visitors and have distributed almost 4,000 pounds of food. With these numbers, The Store is expecting that the number of shoppers this school year will quickly surpass last year’s total. The Store team is grateful to be able to continue to provide support for GW students and hopes to increase our partnerships to meet shopper demand. The Store is seeking new methods of sourcing fresh foods after our grocery partner closed its doors over the summer.

The Store is incredibly excited to partner with AmpleHarvest.org to continue empowering students to pursue their education despite the unexpected financial barriers they may face. The Store staff has meaningful interactions with GW students everyday that highlights the importance of The Store and inspires the team to keep working to ensure that every student at GW has access to the food resources they need. Shoppers frequently tell our team about how grateful they are to have access to The Store. One student described how he worked full-time throughout his four years at GW, and “hardly had any time to sleep, much less complete schoolwork.” With access to The Store, he is able to eat the food he needs to stay engaged in class. Before his graduation, he told our team that he was “immensely grateful for this resource,” and that he would “pay the kindness forward for the rest of [his] life.” With this partnership with AmpleHarvest.org, we are eager to work with like-minded people who also share the same dedication to supporting one another and growing the strength of our community.

Live in the area? Check out The Store’s listing on AmpleHarvest.org and donate!