DSU becomes first Del. college to open food pantry

Thanks to programs and food banks across the country, strides are being made toward tackling food insecurity.

The problem of hunger appears to hit home for Delaware State University, which is now the first campus in Delaware to offer a food pantry.

Shelves of food and hygiene products are now offered for students who food insecure, which means they do not have access to nutritious food either because of financial issues or for other reasons.

Dr. Marsha` Horton, dean of the College of Education, Health, and Public Policy at DSU, tells 47ABC an assessment completed last year found food insecurity applies to 57 percent of their students.

“A lot of people just assume that students are not having that issue because we do provide meal services on campus,” explains Dr. Horton. “It was surprising to me that over 50 percent of students had indicated through survey results that they were experiencing some level of food insecurity.”

The pantry is open once a week and any student can come grab what they need, according to Dr. Horton.

School officials say this program was made possible from help through the Harry K. Foundation, which is based in Sussex County.

Harry Keswani, founding President of the foundation, says there’s currently 27 food pantries serving 45 K-12 schools across Delaware.

“I go out every morning looking for sponsorships from some of the businesses in town. We get our sponsorships. The money comes into the Harry K. Foundation. From there, we purchase the food from the Food Bank and we set up our pantries,” Keswani explains.

The foundation will have 30 sponsored school food pantries in Delaware by the end of this school year.

DSU says they also accept food donations outside of the partnership. If you’re interested in helping, please contact the school.