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Fun-to-Knows with the Bear Pantry

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We are officially past the halfway point of the semester! As we head into Spring Break, here are some updates and fun-to-knows about your university’s food pantry.

Pantry Updates

Last semester, we received a grant from Swipe Out Hunger, the nation’s largest non-profit organization to support university food pantries, allowing us to purchase an additional refrigeration unit for the Bear Pantry! It is housed in the backroom and has been used to store cold overstock items like eggs and bakery items. The new fridge will support additional food to restock the main fridges throughout the week, allowing us to serve over 350 people weekly.

Fun Facts

Now for some interesting facts and tidbits about the Bear Pantry!

Bear Pantry’s Beginnings and Milestones
  • The Bear pantry was founded in 2019 as a continuation of a project Alex Johnson, Director of the CCE, was working on with a graduate student. Since its conception, the Bear Pantry has seen steady growth. We now distribute over seven times the amount of food and have almost four times the number of members as our first year!
  • We obtain our food through several ways. Ozarks Food Harvest is our main food supplier, and we use donated money to purchase food items. We also partner with Campus Gardens; they donate fresh produce during growing seasons. Donations also drive our supply through drives, campus donation bins, and anonymous gifts through our Amazon Wishlist.
  • We receive grant funding through the Student Sustainability Fund which has supported a significant part of our operations.
Bear Pantry’s Longest Staff Member
  • Our longest staff member is our Area Manager, Reish Burnett, who has served with us for three years. His study in dietetics compliments his work at the Bear Pantry where he manages the hydroponics towers, emphasizes food safety, and focuses on nutritious food purchases for the Pantry. Reish graduates with his bachelor’s degree in Nutrition & Dietetics this May and will continue with his studies in the Accelerated Master’s in Nutrition & Dietetics.
Handy Hacks for Pantry Basics

Let us know which handy hack is your favorite!

  • Use instant potatoes instead of cream to thicken soups
  • Swap applesauce or yogurt for eggs in baked items – but swing by the Bear Pantry if you run out of eggs!
  • Rinse canned vegetables and beans to reduce the sodium level
  • Use powdered milk as protein powder (8 grams protein in a ¼ cup of powder)
  • Microwave thinly sliced zucchini or squash to make veggie chips
  • Use a mason jar ring to make perfectly round eggs on the stovetop
  • When opening a food can, poke holes in the bottom to remove the vacuum seal for the can to completely empty
  • Bake, instead of boil, whole eggs in the oven to make hard boiled eggs
  • Opening new jars – dent the edge of the lid with a butterknife handle to release some air to allow for seamless opening

Past/Upcoming events

  • MoState Ag students, faculty, staff, and friends helped drive food distribution over the weekend at their annual Darr Difference Day by filling 300 snack packs for the Bear Pantry! Swing by during open hours to grab one!
  • Teaching Kitchens – another event is coming up March 27th hosted by dietetics graduate Betsy Whitehurst! Register here.
  • Greek Week’s annual donation drive for the Bear Pantry is April 13-18th! Last year, philanthropies raised an incredible $60,000 worth of food and hygiene items that greatly supported our operations. Donated goods will be distributed throughout the following weeks.
  • If you’re having trouble finding time to visit us, remember the Pantry’s after-hours on Mondays from 5-7pm and Tuesdays from 5-5:30pm.

 

Athletics Makes an Impact for Bear Pantry Community

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On October 3rd, student athletes scored a big win in a meaningful way.

Families, fans, and students gathered on Missouri State’s turf to cheer on four athletic home events including swimming & diving, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, and men’s soccer. At the same time, Beth Perine and the acrobatics & tumbling team welcomed donations for the Bear Pantry.

“I wanted to help expand awareness of the Bear Pantry and how it helps the students, faculty, and staff.” Beth Perine, former softball coach and current athlete academic advisor, notes. She also wanted to provide her student-athletes with an opportunity to make an impact in the community.

A collaborative effort, athletic teams and the athletic department shared the message on social media to market the drive.

900+ shelf-stable items were donated to the Bear Pantry.

When Sydney Wilson, the Director of Student-Athlete Development, heard about the event, she jumped at the opportunity to get the Bears Leadership Institute, an athletic leadership development program, involved as well.

The following Monday during their regular meeting times, 17 student-athletes and facilitators filled the Pantry with laughter and hard work to process the donations from the drive. “We have strong athletes. We hauled everything over to the [Bear Pantry] and put people to work…getting athletes involved and giving back,” said Sydney.

Bears Leadership athletes pose with food

“The Bears Leadership event helped our Bear Pantry team a lot following such a big donation drive. It’s a process to haul, sort, inventory, and stock the shelves with so many items. We appreciated their help,” said Natalie Barbieri, Graduate Assistant for the Bear Pantry.

“We have strong athletes. We hauled everything over to the Bear Pantry and put people to work…Getting athletes involved and giving back”

“My favorite part of the event was taking inventory… it was awesome to see the pantry go from just a few items on the shelves to being fully stocked. It was super fun to work with my teammates and the athletic leadership team to refill the pantry,” Evie Kolb, a junior on the swimming & diving team.

Looking back at the event, Beth loved seeing the interaction between the student athletes and the people donating. People were grateful for the opportunity to donate, and the student-athletes expressed gratitude for their donations in return.

People were grateful for the opportunity to donate, and the student-athletes expressed gratitude for their donations in return.

Some people came up to Beth and mentioned how they remember their college years and being hungry sometimes. “There was a lot of ramen going on”, they said. They were happy to help diminish that experience for students.

Highlights

  • Beth Perine hosted a food drive for the Bear Pantry during several home athletic events on October 3rd.
  • Over 900 items were donated to the Bear Pantry.
  • Following the food drive, athletes and faculty from the Bears Leadership Institute processed and stocked donated items in the Bear Pantry.

Support the Bears at MSU’s upcoming sports events!

Visit the Bear Pantry!

Responding to Flooding in Midwest

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Missouri State University students, faculty, and staff have been pivotal in responding to various natural disasters to serve those in need.  Our hearts go out to all our neighbors, students, and colleagues affected by recent flooding.  Missouri State University Students are able to apply for the Emergency Scholarship Fund, which provides support to students to finish their education, despite emergency situations.

Give to the MSU Emergency Scholarship Fund

There are two ways the university community often responds to natural disasters:

Relief 

This is focused on immediate needs, donations and support provided through strong humanitarian organizations.

We encourage people to donate money before providing goods/services.  Monetary donations are able to be used better by organizations that are involved in relief efforts and can be “stretched further.”  Here are a few organizations leading the charge:

We should be cautious on providing donations. Money is always the preferred method for donations. In the coming weeks, the Center for Community Engagement will be compiling organizations to work with to assist the victims of flooding, identifying places to donate money and resources, and collecting information on any ongoing recovery efforts that are taking place with local community or campus groups.  Please follow the CCE on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on relief efforts.  We ask that if you have identified agencies or avenues to assist in the efforts that you share that with us by e-mailing AlexJohnson@missouristate.edu or calling 417-836-5774.

Rebuilding

The continual redevelopment of communities occurs over months or years. Missouri State University students, faculty, and staff have engaged in the rebuilding of other communities in the past and we always consider how we can assist with redevelopment efforts following the initial response.

  • Work alongside the Center for Community Engagement and local organizations! | SIGN UP HERE

To ensure that our actions don’t have unintended consequences, we should be cautious before sending in volunteers that could potentially create a greater burden causing more harm than true aid. It is important to not assume the needs of communities, but rather, follow the lead of non-profit, government, and disaster relief organizations.  We want to ensure that resources are used efficiently and service has a positive impact on affected communities.