Aye Aye Aye Aye BOWIE!
This week Bowie State University (BSU) opened its new food pantry where students can shop for food for free.
The food pantry and nutrition lounge was made possible through a new partnership with Capital Area Food Bank and Food Lion, WJLA reports. The Food Lion Feeds program donated $10,000 to Maryland’s first HBCU to launch the pantry.
Photo Courtesy of ABC 7 News
Students will be able to grab food for free and Capital Area Food Bank will ensure that the pantry stays stocked. The university said that the food pantry allows students to have easy access to healthy snacks and fresh produce since most of their students have been shown to only eat one meal a day.
The new pantry is located on the ground floor of the university library and is equipped with a lounge area as well.
Photo Courtesy of @bowiestateuniversity/Instagram
Brent Swinton, Bowie State Vice President for Institutional Advancement said, “When we talked about this concept with Food Lion we really wanted to attack the stigma and breakdown the stigma of people feeling like they didn’t want to come and get food because of the thought that there is something wrong with suffering from food insecurity. That’s a growing trend across the country and colleges are attacking that and BSU is at the cutting edge. So we want people to feel welcome, to come in and realize that this is all about making sure nutrition is available so our students can achieve in the classroom.”
BSU hopes to eventually expand the pantry to include free toiletry items.
Thank you Bowie State University for continuing to boldly lead the charge!
Photo Courtesy of Bowie State University