Salve Regina addresses food insecurity with new campus initiative, Catherine’s Cupboard
Food insecurity is a pressing global issue that often hides beneath the surface of seemingly affluent communities, affecting individuals and families from all walks of life. Countless individuals silently grapple with the challenges of access to sufficient, nutrient-dense food, revealing that food insecurity is far more prevalent than is often acknowledged.
To help combat food insecurity faced by both students and staff, the Center for Community Engagement and Service has created Catherine’s Cupboard – an anonymous food pantry filled with a variety of non-perishable items ranging from international favorites, student staples and allergen-friendly options. Within the food pantry, there are also community resources posted regarding job opportunities and other food accessibility programs.
A student’s passion for service
Abigail Mensonides, a double major in social work and sociology and anthropology, helped to develop Catherine’s Cupboard for her senior capstone project. “Food insecurity can look so many different ways,” she said. “Any way that our food pantry could help students to not worry about access to healthy food would be a really big accomplishment.”
Mensonides has always had a passion for service. Throughout her four years at Salve Regina, she has volunteered with Trinity Church and the Martin Luther King Center, a nonprofit community center based in Newport. “Volunteering is how I first became interested in hunger relief services,” she said.
Through her capstone, Mensonides is working alongside sociologist Dr. Laura O’Toole to conduct research on the need for a food pantry at Salve Regina. Through surveys, she will identify the need on campus and determine what needs to be provided for students regarding both food and community resources.
She is also working with the Center for Community Engagement and Service to connect the pantry with community resources such as the MLK Center and the Salvation Army. “When we think of Newport, we think a lot about affluence and wealth as seen with the mansions,” Mensonides said. “I think people often forget that there is a need for these resources around here, and I really want to show people that whether you’re in need or not, we’re here to support you.”
Abigail Mensonides helped to develop Catherine’s Cupboard for her senior capstone project.
From cupboard to classroom
Catherine’s Cupboard has also been integrated into the course History of Social Work and Social Welfare Policy, which assists students in understanding how social policy is concerned with the ways society meets the human needs for security, education, work and well-being. Through the course, students will create policies for Catherine’s Cupboard that address eligibility, accessibility and food safety.
“I believe students having an active role in the cupboard’s delivery system will promote an understanding of the ways we can all respond to the issue of hunger that is plaguing so many Americans today,” said course instructor Kelly O’Malley, lecturer in the Department of Social Work. “It is wonderful for students to become aware of the way their own educational community is committing to the alleviation of hunger.”
Catherine’s Cupboard will play a vital role on campus, and Salve Regina acknowledges the indispensable contribution a food pantry has in fostering community resilience, promoting equal access to nourishment, and ultimately, working towards a world that is harmonious, just and merciful.
“Whether or not we are social workers, each of us has a responsibility to eradicate hunger in a country where there is more than enough for all,” O’Malley said.
