by Jesse Muehler
CUC4Life (Concordia University Chicago) dedicated the month of October to focusing on food insecurity, specifically as it is found on their campus. The Pillars Pantry, launched in the Fall of 2020, is an on-campus resource designed to serve CUC students, faculty, and staff who are struggling with food insecurity.
In honor of the one-year anniversary of the Pillar Pantry on September 30, CUC4Life spent the month of October contacting local congregations to ask for their partnership in restocking the Pillars Pantry. Several local congregations joined our efforts, holding food drives through their Sunday school and youth group programs to collect donations for this on-campus resource!
The goal of the Pillars Pantry is to provide CUC community members with supplementary food options so that food insecurity does not become an obstacle to their education or work. Research has shown food insecurity to be a major obstacle to a large number of college students, forcing many to choose between their education and putting food on the table for their family. This situation often leads to students working two or three jobs at the same time as being a full-time student, placing unreasonable amounts of stress and pressure on the individual, with the possibility of having a negative impact on their mental health.
CUC4Life is thankful for the life-affirming work of the Pillars Pantry, as it prevents CUC community members from facing more difficult situations which might become more intense life issues.
Deaconess Betsy Dodgers is the director of the Pillars Pantry, and CUC student Faith Muehler is the student manager.
Jesse Muehler is CUC4Life co-leader, CUDM executive director, and CYM Team Emmanuel co-leader.