Grant helps Penn College pantry expand services

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Pennsylvania College of Technology received a PA Hunger-Free Campus Grant of $40,000 to enhance the services offered by The Cupboard, the college’s on-campus food pantry for students experiencing food insecurity.

The Cupboard offers students perishable and nonperishable food, drinks and hygiene products, as well as items for students who are parents, such as diapers and wipes.

Kaelee M. Colyer, a second-year student from Williamsport, has been visiting The Cupboard since her first semester, and was pleasantly surprised to learn about the facility.

“I was shocked, honestly. I didn’t expect so much support,” she said. “I don’t have any family; it’s just me. So The Cupboard genuinely, some weeks, makes a difference in how much I’m eating. Sometimes I would not be eating as much as I should, so it helps me be healthy. Food is fuel; it helps everything.”

Grant funds were used to add a commercial double-door refrigerator and double-door freezer, allowing The Cupboard to increase its offering of fruits, vegetables and other perishable items, which students have been quick to pick up. The money also is being used to add “break boxes” and “emergency meal swipes” to the no-cost pantry’s services.

The boxes are for students who need to stay on campus during college closures and seasonal/holiday breaks (including a four-week winter break and one-week spring break). The boxes will be filled with items a student can use to prepare meals in their residence hall. The funding supports break boxes for about 25 students.

Emergency meal swipes — referring to students “swiping” their payment cards to purchase meals — support students with a short-term, immediate need by providing a card loaded with funds for use in the dining units. Grant money covers the cost of 125 emergency meal swipes.

Funds also were used to purchase groceries and supplies and to make physical enhancements to The Cupboard, formerly a computer lab, including new flooring, ceiling and lighting; heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades; rewiring; and new merchandising fixtures.

The PA Hunger-Free Campus Grant program is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education. According to the department, the statewide food insecurity rate is 11.9%, including 1 in 3 students. A recent study found that food-insecure college students have 42% lower odds of graduating. Colleges and universities across the country are continuing to take steps to address these issues so students can focus on their education instead of where to find their next meal.

The Cupboard at Penn College opened in fall 2016 after a survey by the college’s Dining Services department found that more than half of the students who responded said they had gone without food or skipped a meal because they lacked the money or resources to eat. 

Since then, The Cupboard has steadily grown from its first location, in a former closet where only nonperishable items were offered, to its current site outside an on-campus convenience store. It recently added six “mini-Cupboards” — each with a small refrigerator and shelving — throughout the main campus, the Lumley Aviation Center, and the Schneebeli Earth Science Center.

In 2024-25, The Cupboard served about 500 students, providing more than 10,000 pounds of food.

The Cupboard is managed by Dining Services, but it is supported entirely through donations from the campus community, industry and community partners, and grant funding. Donations of items are accepted at The Wildcat Express convenience store. 

For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.