Category

• Promising Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Mitigation
• Awareness

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Poverty driver

• Provide benefit in-kind (material)
• Non-driver - improving quality of life

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Keywords

• Education
• Food and Drink
• Research and Evaluation
• Training

Aim

To ease the stress of the cost-of-living crisis, and to provide grocery staples that can ease pressure on student budgets.

Summary

The Glasgow Caledonian University Student Pantry was launched by the GCU Students’ Association in partnership with GCU in academic year 2023/24 in response to the cost-of-living crisis. The Student Pantry provides up to ten non-perishable food items, including pasta, rice, porridge, and tinned foods, to students struggling financially while studying at GCU. Students can book a slot online via the GCU Students Association website and collect their food items from 2-4pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. To ensure fairness, repeat bookings must be at least two weeks apart to allow everyone to access food supplies.

What difference does it make?

The Project has mitigated the negative impact of food poverty and hunger for the students who have accessed the service with the potential to help more students who may be struggling with food poverty.
The project is still new, but it is sparking conversations amongst gcu and tge students associations about tackling student poverty and how to provide them with support. Usages are concentrated amongst mature, international students, overwhelmingly studying on postgraduate taught programmes which have little other financial and living cost support.

Key take-aways

• Ongoing funding is essential to keep the Pantry open-in its current form. Changing the model to one based on donations would require more resources in terms of staffing.

 

Organisations

Glasgow Caledonian University Student Association

Location

Level 0 of the Students Association Building (Glasgow Caledonian University Campus).

Contact