Campus basic needs hubs: Harrison, AR

Basic needs insecurity among community college students: Food security and other basic needs, such as stable housing, are essential for academic success in college. Research shows that food insecurity among college students is associated with anxiety and stress, social challenges, and decreased academic persistence and performance. Challenges with food security are particularly widespread among community college students: studies suggest that up to two-thirds of students experience some degree of food insecurity. Students of color, low-income students, and student parents experience basic needs insecurity at disproportionately high rates.

Especially high rates of food insecurity in Arkansas: Arkansas has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the United States, with approximately one in five households across the state experiencing food insecurity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The share of Arkansas children living in food-insecure households increased during the Great Recession (from 19.7% in the 2005-2007 reporting period to 26.8% in the 2008-2011 reporting period) and has remained consistently high ever since.

Challenges accessing public benefits: In 2014, staff at North Arkansas College (Northark) worked with a coach from national nonprofit Achieving the Dream to identify and prioritize opportunities to better support students’ holistic well-being. Through this process, Northark staff realized that many students struggled with food security and lacked support applying for public benefits. In particular, staff observed that students who applied for SNAP benefits often denied benefits that they should have qualified for. In consultation with leaders from the student government, Northark identified food security as a top priority for immediate action.

Launching a “hub” food pantry model: Northark launched a food pantry in fall 2015 that also serves as a hub for connections to other support services. Named for the school’s mascot and known as Pete’s Pantry, the hub offers students access to healthy food, financial literacy and career coaching, and support applying for public benefits such as SNAP. There are no income-based or other criteria for using the pantry — any enrolled student can use the pantry’s services. Students who visit the pantry complete a short intake form with details including their student ID number, number of people in their household, and demographic information. This helps Northark track who it serves and, if appropriate, refer students to other services they qualify for (such as veterans’ services, utility assistance, or child care support).

A strategic location on campus: Northark’s Office of Student Affairs worked with college administrators to identify a space on campus that would enable food storage and distribution. Staff and administration ultimately selected a centrally-located space near the student advising and financial aid offices and surrounded by ample parking, which makes the hub easily accessible for students. The space itself has three connecting areas: a welcome office where students complete necessary paperwork, the pantry itself, and a storage room.

Partnership-driven donations and services: Northark has received a small number of short-term philanthropic grants that helped launch and promote Pete’s Pantry, but the pantry’s operations are generally sustained through private donations from the Northark community and its local partners. Pete’s Pantry receives monthly allotments of food and other items through a partnership with the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas. The food bank’s contributions are supplemented by regular donations from the local Aldi grocery store, as well as through food drives run by staff, faculty, and the local radio station. Pete’s Pantry is also involved with the Boone County Resource Council, a consortium of nonprofit resource providers who convene quarterly and help residents access health and social service offerings.

Staffing the pantry: Northark’s Office of Student Affairs leads the administration of Pete’s Pantry programs by collecting regular donations from local partners, hiring and overseeing work study students, and coordinating fundraising and in-kind support for the pantry. Work study students and volunteers help students fill out intake forms, guide them through the pantry, and restock the pantry when new shipments arrive. Northark community members also emphasize that the culture around Pete’s Pantry is “all hands on deck,” with volunteers pitching in to help as needed. For example, if a student needs something from the pantry outside of its normal hours of operation, any Student Affairs staff member can help them obtain access.

Operating on a points system: Pete’s Pantry operates on a point system, whereby students can shop for food items using a set number of points twice per month. Hygiene items are typically one point or less, whereas high-value items like beef or chicken require more points to purchase. Allowing students to select their own items ensures that they receive food they want and need, minimizes the risk that food will be wasted, and reinforces budgeting skills. Students with dependents receive additional points for each dependent in their household, and Northark data show that approximately one third of the individuals who benefit from Pete’s Pantry are dependent children.

Northark staff and faculty: Staff from the student affairs, student activities, and financial aid offices helped launch Pete’s Pantry in 2015. The Director of Student Success within the Office of Student Affairs continues to oversee pantry operations, with informal support from staff in other departments. Faculty also help sustain Pete’s Pantry through financial contributions and volunteering for events such as food drives and assembling Thanksgiving baskets. Training about Northark’s holistic support services is now integrated into onboarding and professional development across departments, which prepares staff and faculty to refer students to appropriate services.

Northark administration: Early buy-in from campus leaders was critical to help staff secure a dedicated space on campus for Pete’s Pantry. Now, the President’s Cabinet at Northark meets weekly and includes the Vice President of Student Affairs, who oversees the pantry and other basic needs services. The Cabinet helps the Office of Student Affairs address challenges as they arise, champions the pantry to the College’s Board of Trustees, and coordinates communication to external community partners as needed.

Students: During the planning and launch phases, Northark’s student government provided input to Northark staff on how to most effectively roll out Pete’s Pantry. The student government is no longer formally involved, but students continue to support the pantry through volunteerism and donations. For example, students raised funds for an industrial-size freezer that was donated to Pete’s Pantry in early 2025. Pete’s Pantry also employs work study students on a semesterly basis to support regular pantry operations.

Food Bank of North Central Arkansas: The food bank, located about one hour from the Northark campus, serves as Northark’s longest-standing partner for food sourcing. The food bank also helped Northark to connect with local retailers for additional contributions, and students can take advantage of events hosted by the food bank, such as cooking classes and nutrition programs.

Funders and technical assistance providers: During the pantry’s early years, Northark staff worked with coaches from national nonprofits Achieving the Dream and Jobs for the Future to develop a roadmap for Pete’s Pantry and its related services. Through these networks, Northark learned from other institutions implementing similar models, participated in conferences and convenings focused on basic needs, and received expert coaching. This technical assistance was made possible through support from philanthropic funders focused on postsecondary success.

Campus-wide buy-in: Staff from the Office of Student Affairs made a concerted effort to establish Pete’s Pantry as a core part of the college’s day-to-day work, recognizing a risk of “initiative fatigue” among several other efforts occurring simultaneously. To build support among faculty and administration, the Student Affairs launched the Northark Cares campaign, which focused on the student experience and the toll that hunger takes. This effort to mobilize support for Pete’s Pantry was largely successful, and ongoing support from staff, faculty, and administrators has enabled the pantry’s continued operations.

Honoring students’ dignity: When the pantry first launched, staff worried about the risk of a stigma surrounding the use of benefits services. They mitigated this risk in multiple ways: critically, Northark encourages all students to utilize Pete’s Pantry — services are for everyone, not just low-income students. Furthermore, by creating a retail-like experience where students shop for items they want, the pantry gives students choice and agency in how they use its services. One student worker shared that this approach feels more humanizing than other food pantry models where users do not have a choice in the goods they receive.

A “no wrong doors” approach: Staff across campus (such as advisors, financial aid officers, admissions officers, and faculty) are trained to help coordinate service referrals. This means that students can approach nearly any staff member on campus and get connected to the support they need. If they prefer for their request to remain confidential, students can also fill out a web form indicating the type of support they’re looking for, which is then routed to an administrative assistant who connects the student with the appropriate resource or service. Embedding support services across divisions and departments helps reinforce a campus culture that cares for students’ overall well-being.

Proactive student outreach and relationship-building: Northark broadly promotes Pete’s Pantry and its services through campus-wide channels, such as a mandatory freshman orientation and First Year Experience course, while also conducting more targeted outreach to students most likely to benefit from services, such as through one-on-one advising and coaching meetings. An evaluation across four Arkansas community colleges found that students receiving targeted outreach were three times more likely to access their campus food pantry. Personal connections also help Pete’s Pantry recruit new users and encourage them to return. For example, an assistant coach’s recruitment efforts have helped increase pantry usage by student athletes, and a student worker shared that the pantry has become a space to connect with fellow single parents and share tips for juggling school, work, and childcare.

Limited staff and financial resources: Northark is a small community college, with about 2,000 students and 200 staff members. Around the time Pete’s Pantry was launched, staff were stretched thin by multiple initiatives that divided their time and attention. Furthermore, Northark was unable to commit to financially supporting the pantry, and staff worried about raising enough funds and in-kind donations to meet demand. However, as a result of their efforts to build support and buy-in for Pete’s Pantry, it has remained open and well-stocked for over a decade thanks to private donors’ generosity. Stable and predictable funding remains an ongoing challenge, but the Northark staff lead said, “We’re in year 10 of the pantry being open, and we have never struggled, our bank account has never run dry - it’s just amazing.”

Finding an ideal space on campus: State and local laws require food pantries to comply with a number of guidelines regarding ventilation, security, and plumbing. These requirements limited options for where Pete’s Pantry could be located. While the current space works well for the pantry’s operational needs, there are limited opportunities for expansion. At one point the pantry included a closet where students could access free or affordable professional clothing, but eventually the pantry needed to recoup that space for food distribution.

Equitably distributing in-demand items: Items such as meat, diapers, and toilet paper are particularly popular, and sometimes supply does not meet demand. The pantry isn’t able to guarantee that these items will be part of their regular donations, and when they do have them in stock, pantry staff set limits for how many each user can take. Conversely, some items are unpopular, and staff do what they can to minimize food waste. They regularly monitor expiration dates and rotate food using the “first-in first-out” method, placing newer items near the back of shelves and older items near the front. Items are assigned point values based on demand, with higher-demand items requiring more points and lower-demand items requiring fewer points, or in some cases, being given away for free.

Meeting students’ housing and transportation needs: Despite Northark’s robust referral network and strong relationships with local and regional partners, finding long-term housing and transportation solutions for students remains a challenge. Northark is located in a rural area with limited public transportation or ride-share options, and issues with transportation can negatively impact a student’s ability to be present on campus and succeed in their coursework.

Data sharing agreements to evaluate long-term outcomes: The ECMC Foundation’s Basic Needs Initiative included funding for research to explore the long-term impacts of Arkansas food pantry hubs on student outcomes. DVP-Praxis, the evaluator working with Arkansas Community Colleges, initially designed a study that required data sharing agreements between the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the Arkansas Department of Human Services. This would allow researchers to connect student academic records to SNAP recipient information, and thus investigate how pantry usage impacted SNAP enrollment and longer-term outcomes. Ultimately these data sharing agreements fell through, and researchers used college administrative data to explore shorter-term academic outcomes (retention and college completion).