Five years of the TU FoodShare
Pantry has helped hundreds of members of the TU community dealing with food insecurity
By Kyle Hobstetter on April 7, 2021
In 2019, a survey released by Temple University鈥檚 indicated that 45% of student respondents from more than 100 institutions said they had been food insecure鈥攎eaning they had a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.
And, according to the Maryland Food Bank, a quarter of a million Marylanders suffer from food insecurity each year鈥攊ncluding members of the Towson University community.
That鈥檚 why, five years ago, Rev. Laura Sinche created the Towson University FoodShare Program, which provides students, faculty and staff experiencing food insecurity with a weekly bag of food throughout the term.
Sinche saw that several students in her ministry were on food stamps and experiencing food insecurity, so she leaned on her previous experience working with food pantries to bring one to Towson University.
鈥淲e would gather around a meal and send people home with leftovers, and some people come to a meal because they just need food,鈥� Sinche says. 鈥淲e always knew that that was an issue. Then I helped Paddy Watson, who's the sustainability manager, with the move-out collection one year. We were, at that point, just collecting food and packing it up for a local food pantry.
鈥淎nd I said, 鈥楳an, it would be wonderful if some of this food could also be used to serve our students on campus.鈥� Paddy heard that, and the wheels in her head started turning.鈥�
Opening on April 8, 2016, the TU FoodShare was humble, but it was a start.
With the help of Watson and other members of the Office of Student Affairs, the Towson University FoodShare pantry began off campus inside the basement of the Newman Center, the home of TU鈥檚 Catholic Campus Ministry.
After three years in a dark basement there, the FoodShare pantry found a new home in 2020, on the first floor of the Health and Counseling Centers at Ward & West. There they have a larger, brighter space that provides food for hundreds of members of the TU community.
With the new space鈥攆eaturing more shelving, more food and hopefully a refrigerator/freezer soon鈥擲inche says the pantry now feels like it鈥檚 a part of campus.
鈥淚t's amazing because when we were off campus, most people couldn't find us. It was not accessible, and if you had mobility challenges, it was completely off the table for you,鈥� Sinche says. 鈥淣ow to be in the center of campus in a regular building among students and accessible to people has been amazing.鈥�
As the space has grown, so has Sinche鈥檚 staff. TU student groups volunteer at the pantry, handing out food and receiving donations.
The program has also received help from AmeriCorps VISTA program volunteer Luke Birdsong.
READ MORE: TU FoodShare partners with AmeriCorps VISTA
He was excited to start in the fall 2020 term. Now, after working with Sinche over the past year, he understands how the program has grown so much.
鈥淨uite simply, without Pastor Laura, the FoodShare would not be here,鈥� Birdsong says. 鈥淪he did so much incredible work getting the FoodShare to where it is today that I cannot fathom what it would be like without her. From my very first day, Pastor Laura has been there to lend a helping hand and support me, as she does with so many others.鈥�
To celebrate the FoodShare鈥檚 fifth anniversary, the pantry will be holding a day鈥檚 worth of programming on Thursday, April 8. It will start with an online cooking demonstration of vegetarian sloppy joes, hosted by the FoodShare and the Maryland SNAP-ed. The event starts at 11 a.m. and can be viewed on .
There will also be a FoodShare open house from 3鈥�6 p.m. that day, with a special treat for everyone who visits.
The pantry is open to the community Thursdays from 3鈥�6 p.m., as well as by appointment and through a remote pick-up model. For those interested in using the FoodShare鈥檚 services, email foodshare AT_TOWSON to make an appointment. Also, stay in touch by following them on , and .