A process of almost two years in the making has created excitement among UNK students and staff who will benefit from free food and sundry items while attending school. The Loper Pantry has officially moved from the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership to the north side of the Nebraskan Student Union on the second floor and opened on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
The transition was made in hopes of offering aid to a wider audience of students around campus.
“In order to reach more students and have easier access to necessities that some may not know about, we felt it was important to move the Loper Pantry,” said Javier Corpus, the programming and retention coordinator for UNK.
The Loper Pantry is a place for students in need who may have food insecurities, sensitivities or simply cannot afford it. It was started five years ago in the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership, which is located in the south, lower level of NSU. While the pantry was resourceful for students at its previous location, it was not large enough to cater to the whole campus and was less accessible because of its requirement for students to walk through a group of their peers for necessities.
This move has been a long time coming. The space that is now the Loper Pantry took almost two years to renovate. It was once a storage room in which walls needed to be added, windows to be covered and the whole unit needed to be cleared out.
With its new home on the north side of the entrance, the Loper Pantry will offer many more benefits.
“It gives the students better access by being its own, standing unity and the opportunity to partner with our campus food provider, Sodexo, who will help with ensuring it is stocked,” said George Holman, the associate vice chancellor of student affairs.
The new location also offers better hours to gain students more access. The new hours will be Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
If interested in helping, there will be a donation box outside the front doors of the pantry, as well as a food drive throughout the school year. To donate in other forms besides food, email loperpantry@unk.edu or go to the UNK website and type in “Loper Pantry” in the search bar.
Photos by Gabby Roche / Antelope Staff
