Gift from Smeal graduate supports students via Lion's Pantry, Ross Student Farm

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. —  As gardens and farms across the commonwealth welcome the spring, alumnus Patrick Whalen Jr. and his wife, Kathleen Whalen, are using philanthropy to help Penn State students access affordable, healthy foods. Their commitment — which includes both immediate and estate support — will provide funds to the Lion’s Pantry and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm. 

The Whalens’ $100,000 gift will address food insecurity, an issue on the rise on college campuses across the nation. At Penn State, a survey released in 2023 indicated that of 17,000 students who responded, 14% reported that they had not eaten for an entire day in the previous month due to lack of funds.  

A student-run organization founded in 2014, the Lion’s Pantry advocates for the health and well-being of Penn State students, faculty and staff. In addition to  shelf stable foods, the Pantry offers access to personal care items — all at zero cost to anyone with a Penn State ID. Resources are available at the organization’s flagship location on Bluebell Road on the northern edge of the University Park campus. 

For the student leaders of the Lion’s Pantry, the focus is on providing a much-needed resource to their peers while reducing the stigma of food insecurity. Apart from a small stipend provided by the Penn State Student Fee Board, all the pantry’s offerings are acquired through fundraising and donations. 

“When it comes to feeding our student community, every dollar counts,” said Heide Gibson, associate director of student affairs and staff liaison to the Lion’s Pantry. “The Whalens’ gift is going to be incredibly meaningful. By helping to keep their plates full now and in the future, philanthropy ensures students have the nutrition to succeed in their studies.” 

A portion of the Whalens’ gift will also support the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm, located on a four-acre site bordering the University Park campus and run primarily by students. Undergraduate interns and Student Farm Club members engage in all stages of the food production system, including seeding, transplanting, harvesting and packing crops; marketing the farm’s activities and programs; and managing the sale and donation of the farm’s produce to food wholesalers and food banks, respectively. More than 20,000 pounds of produce is produced by the farm each year and is enjoyed by thousands of Penn Staters at locations including the University Park Dining Commons and the Bryce Jordan Center. 

The farm is currently undergoing a new effort to expand amenities and offerings — now supported in part by the Whalens’ philanthropy — that will add, for the first time, a permanent building to the property which will include a demonstration kitchen, restrooms, a covered outdoor classroom and meeting space and temperature-controlled rooms for washing and packing produce. In honor of the initial gift to the project, the welcome area of the farm will be named the Whalen Family Event Lawn.  

Leslie Pillen, associate director of farm and food systems, advocates on behalf of the students participating in the farm’s activities within the Penn State ecosystem.

"This is a transformational moment for the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm,” said Pillen. “The construction of a brick-and-mortar facility will make it possible to comfortably welcome more students and visitors to the property — something that will really elevate the programming and learning that is possible on the farm. Patrick and Kathleen have taken a leadership role by providing the financial support needed to get the project off of the ground.” 

Whalen earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Penn State in 1985. His decades-long career in commercial insurance underwriting has culminated in his current role as assistant vice president at Berkshire Hathaway in Chicago. He is also a member of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association. He explained that, to him, the Lion's Pantry and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm are programs that presented an opportunity to tangibly impact the lives of Penn State students.  

“Our goals are twofold. We want to give back to Penn State, the school I love and that has done a lot for me, and to ease the burden of students who are struggling with food insecurity. If we can help students worry less about food, we wanted to pay it forward even in that small way.”  

Support for programs like the Lion’s Pantry and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm advances the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.