Graduate assistants lead food pantry relocation

Spending the summer helping relocate Central Michigan University’s food pantry will provide Olamide Racheal Adu with valuable communication skills when she launches her public health career.

“Working here has given me a better understanding that food insecurity isn’t always visible,” Adu said. “It can be stressful for the people we serve, and sometimes that can create conflicts I’ve learned how to navigate,” Adu said. It’s also stressful for the people the food pantry serves, and it could create conflicts that Adu learned to navigate.

“Those are things you can apply in public health. It’s important to know how to deal with sensitive issues.”

Adu was one of three graduate assistants who played a major role during the food pantry’s move to Robinson Hall over the summer. It plays a critical role in introducing new students to CMU.

“A lot of students, when they show up here, this is the first place they go,” said Jena Wazny, who is working on her master’s degree in school counseling. Working there allowed her to acknowledge individuals’ mental and physical health. Jena strives to meet everyone’s needs and has experience facilitating difficult conversations to help each person.

“We explain our purpose and how we are a supplemental resource. I help them understand what we’re here for as we continue to help them,” Wazny said. “As a school counselor, I would love to see what I can do to help students meet their basic needs.”

The food pantry is a volunteering opportunity for students five days a week. It helps students with food insecurity. The amount of food and other resources also helps students feel more confident, said Symantha Dattilo, interim director of the food pantry and supervisor of the volunteer center.

Students can visit it once a week and choose from a variety of food and care items. Providing them with food supports their academic careers.

“We are striving so much that students aren’t failing classes because of food,” Adu said.

Planning the move started last winter, Dattilo said. The graduate assistants helped prepare for the official move a month before by moving some of the resources from its old location in the North Student Success Center to Robinson.

Graduate assistants completed the move-in just 15 hours after planning meetings. Preparing the shelves was time-consuming.

“The furniture, shelving and all of the food was put away in a day, pretty much,” said Campbell Geary, who is working on his master’s degree in history.

Graduate assistants moved the shelves and other heavy items to Robinson Hall. To move the items, they had access to a freight elevator, which was tiring to use. Once all of the items were moved to Robinson Hall, they were put into a sequence to navigate the pantry easily.  

We had help from Residence Life staff, Building Maintenance Workers, Moving and Delivery, Facilities Management, Student Affairs professional staff, Printing Services, and student volunteers. I just want to make sure we recognize them for their assistance in the move.

“We were lucky in that we had a lot of hands from volunteers to help us,” Dattilo said. “I can’t imagine how long that would have taken us on our own.”

The new location opened June 3. In addition, volunteers started using new inventory software.

CMU’s food pantry was launched in 2018. It was the dream of Shawna Ross, who started work at the volunteer center in 1980. Ross retired in 2019.

“The amount of labor, work and care that went into making this an accessible place for students, that impact just can’t be overstated,” Dattilo said.