Support the GaelPantry at Saint Mary's

Support the GaelPantry at Saint Mary’s College | Hosted by the Mission and Ministry Center

During the current economic crisis and pandemic, food insecurity is an even greater issue for college students than it was before.

The GaelPantry has stayed open as an essential service since Contra Costa's Shelter In Place order went into effect in March. As we began the Fall 2020 semester, the Mission and Ministry Center staff designed and implemented pick-up systems for both on- and off-campus students. Additionally, we only had to shut down for one week to reboot our systems with a new, online ordering system that decreases traffic in the pantry and supports social distancing. We are currently in the process of setting up links on our GaelPantry website to food pantries in cities where we have larger clusters of students studying from home this academic year.

Your support will not only help us purchase and distribute more food, but will further the pantry's larger impact in our student community in the following ways: 

• $5 provides nutritional support for one student for a day
• $15 provides nutritional support for one student for a week
• $60 provides nutritional support for one student for a month
• $150 provides nutritional support for one student for a semester

More background:

The GaelPantry provides nutritional assistance for graduate and undergraduate students at Saint Mary's College. Open two days a week (and by appointment), the GaelPantry is student-run, student-led, and supervised by staff in the Mission and Ministry Center. The work of the GaelPantry aligns with the Lasallian Educational Mission as a visible example of all of the Five Lasallian Core Principles by providing nutritional assistance and educational opportunities to explore tangible examples of solidarity. The GaelPantry does not solely operate from the Mission and Ministry Center but has collaborative staff and faculty partnerships across campus and in the larger community.  We could not sustain the pantry without all of this support.

There are more than 700 food pantries located on college and university campuses across the country. Food insecurity is not a unique problem to just SMC students, it is rampant across the nation and has been increasing over the past decade.  Since 2016 when the GaelPantry opened, we have served over 2,200 SMC students with over 4,600 visits — with nearly 90% of those students being “in need of support” according to their FAFSA reporting. Food demand and supply have been steadily growing at roughly 30% each semester.

Thank you for making a difference through your generous support! Donors like you make this resource possible at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Karin L. McClelland, SMC ‘90

Director, Mission and Ministry Center

klm14@stmarys-ca.edu