Linn-Benton's Mindful Market: The Path to a Campus Food Pantry

The Mindful Market made its Linn-Benton debut on Jan. 12 in the Commons Cafeteria at the Albany Campus.

The pop-up market provided a resource for LBCC students who struggle with food security. Katelynn Anstey, a Student Leadership event organizer, said the Mindful Market aims to provide students with ingredients for easy-to-prepare meals that students can cook at home.

The market also connects students with off-campus food-security resources. Meals offered to students included veggie pasta and chicken burrito bowls. Breakfast foods such as  oatmeal, and smaller snack foods such as chips and fruits were also offered. Students were invited to take what they needed.

The Mindful Market is planning to run once per term, but LBCC Student Leadership is hoping the market paves the way for a student food pantry on campus that students can access at any time. The recent event ran for three hours, and saw around 80 students stop by for food resources.

“The goal is to show that we do have students who would use it (a food pantry), on a daily basis,” Anstey said. “If we can just start somewhere, if we have the numbers to show them (LBCC Administration), we would like to start somewhere.”

 LBCC is one of the only community colleges in Oregon that doesn't have an on-campus food pantry. Student Leadership is taking steps to align with other community colleges.

Amanda Mendell, a program assistant with Student Leadership, said, “My team has been going and talking to almost every community college in Oregon, to figure out what it is they're doing, how it is they're making it work for their students, and how they're funding it. We're really learning about what they're doing and seeing how we can implement that here.”

While Student Leadership feels adamant about the need for an LBCC food pantry, college administration worries about the challenges that come with one. Some of these challenges include storage for food, pest control, reliable funding for food, and consistent volunteer workers to help a pantry run.

Anstey said she understands the administration's concern, and ran into some difficulties of her own in setting up the Mindful Market. Student Leadership is determined to push past the obstacles, but describes LBCC administration as more hesitant to commit to the project.

Part of the concern comes from LBCC’s previous food pantry, which was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The food pantry was described by Student Leadership as mismanaged, and ineffective.

Student Leadership President Lilleanna Johnson said, “It wasn't allowing students to pick out food. They’d request food, and we'd give them what we thought that they'd need, not what they actually needed, which created some complaints and students didn't exactly like that format, then it shut down over the pandemic.”

For Student Leadership, the benefits of a food pantry outweigh the potential difficulties and challenges.

“It's a helpful way of keeping students in education,” said Johnson. “Anything that we can do to help students meet their basic needs can help them stay in school and be successful. Linn-Benton is a school for very non-traditional students, people who can't attend a big university.”

“LBCC has resources and students are actively paying for us to find ways to support them through this. Being in college is a very special time for students as you're actively paying to get your education, so it's a little bit of a greater issue, getting your food. You’re putting your money towards education instead.”

Student Leadership continues to advocate for the needs of students, but they need the help of students to show administration they’re on the right track. Anstey and Mendell both said the best way for students to get involved is showing up, spreading awareness, and being vocal about the project.

Students that missed the pop-up event can visit the Student Union adjacent to the courtyard on the Albany campus to show their support for the cause. For those looking to go the extra mile, students can volunteer for future events at the Student Union or online to slcvolunteer@linnbenton.edu . The Student Union is always looking for additional volunteers, and volunteering can even offer tuition credits for those who are committed.