Food pantry asks Owens students 'How much do you need?'

FINDLAY — College students, like the rest of the population, may struggle to access enough food. A fall 2024 student financial wellness survey at Owens Community College found that 52% of students identified as food insecure. When Krista Kiessling started a community garden at Owens in 2011, followed by a food pantry, she only had anecdotal evidence, but knew the need existed. "We very quickly learned that we were filling a pretty significant need," said Kiessling, the director of the Owens Center for Campus and Community Connections. "From there, the food pantry developed into the whole basic needs resource center. College students are poor. They're doing everything they can to try to be here and focus on school, so they can't work as many hours as they want. Groceries are one of the things that suffers, and the access to healthy food. They can't focus when they're in class and hungry." The Harvest Food Pantry at Owens was the first food pantry at a community college in Ohio. It provides free food resources, including non-perishable food items as well as meat, dairy and produce when available. Campus and Community Connections also operates a career closet and free stores, which allow students to acquire clothing items for interviews, job fairs or class presentations. The pantry is located in the Campus and Community Connections office in College Hall 151 on the Toledo-area Campus. Students on the Findlay-area campus can stop in to the Student Services office or email connections@owens.edu. There are also food carts located throughout both campuses which allow anyone to grab a food item with no questions. "We welcome people with warm faces. Seeing everyone gather in here, having conversations and welcoming other students makes people feel comfortable," said student Tamia Hayes, a general arts student from Toledo, who works in the pantry. "It can be nerve-wracking for people to come in and say, 'I need help,' so taking that first step for them is important." She added that some students "could have dropped out if they didn't know about this resource, not just the food pantry but all the resources we provide." Campus and Community Connections aims to remove barriers between individuals and their basic needs. As Kiessling said, "We're not going to make someone come in here and prove their poverty." "It fills a significant need, but hunger isn't what I would say is the number one need; it's the culture of it and setting the precedent that we do care and we're willing to do something about it," Kiessling said. "If we know you're hungry, we know you're probably struggling with other things. I hope we do multiple things that remove the stigma." While other pantries limit their clients to residents of certain zip codes or limit the number of times someone can visit the pantry in a certain timeframe, the Harvest Food Pantry does neither. In fact, there are no restrictions on who can use the pantry. Kiessling said people were concerned at first that this would create abuse of the system, but they have not found this to be the case. "They always ask, 'How much can I take?' We don't answer that with anything numeric. It's, 'How much do you need? How much do you need to keep your butt in your seat in class so you can finish what you came here to do?'," she said. Since July 2025, the pantry has served nearly 1,300 people and volunteers have stocked the shelves with 7½ tons of food. The Associated Press reported in November that 1.1 million college students nationwide are enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Food insecurity on college campuses has been on the rise in the past decade, and students have had to make tough choices about how to stretch their wallets to cover the necessities, said AJ Scheitler, director of the Data Equity Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Policy Research. Students at other Ohio campuses are facing these struggles, as well, and colleges are working to address the need. At Bowling Green State University, the Falcon Food Pantry on campus supports students, faculty and staff with nutritious and accessible food. All members of the campus community can stop by once a week with their BGSU ID to "shop" for a free bag of food and hygiene items. More information is at https://www.bgsu.edu/ffrc/falcon-food-pantry.html The Owens Community College Foundation has identified the Harvest Food Pantry and Garden as the recipient of the money raised for Owens for Giving Tuesday. The community can contribute at owens.edu/foundation/annualgiving-form. For more information on the Center for Campus and Community Connections, visit owens.edu/connection.