During their first week of school at Casper College, new students were participating in a scavenger hunt as a gamified way for them to discover resources across the campus. One stop on the scavenger hunt: a food pantry housed inside of the Union/University building.
Established in 2020 by Casper College’s Student Senate as a way to provide nourishment for students experiencing food insecurity, the program has been maintained by the school’s Student Life office and is now a Hunger Relief Partner of Food Bank of Wyoming. The pantry allows any Casper College student to take eight food items per week, plus two personal hygiene items.
“For all of us staff members, we take major pride in this,” said Devin Fulton, Casper College student life coordinator. “We’re here to make the experience on campus for students a great one, and great comes with comfort and flourishing. You can’t flourish if you are hungry.”
During the 2023-2024 academic year, the pantry saw 1,300 visits from students. Fulton said it’s the most yet, adding, “It’s showing that we’re reaching out to more students, and hopefully it’s helped them battle the problem that is food insecurity.”
The college’s partnership with Food Bank of Wyoming has helped the pantry maintain quantities of both shelf-stable and fresh foods for students.
“Being able to get a bulk quantity of certain things like macaroni and cheese cups or individual cereal bowls, students absolutely love those, and being able to stock up on those in a large quantity has saved lots of time for us to be able to serve the students better,” Fulton said. “I’m very grateful for our partnership.”
