The Shark Pantry supports students

By Antonio Miguel Escorzon •

Four years after opening, the NSU Shark Pantry continues to find new ways to reach out to the student community, such as hosting its first Scoop N’ Chill event on Aug. 22 during Waves of Welcome. The Shark Pantry is located on the second floor of the Don Taft University Center.

Kate Gittleman, director of STEM Initiatives and Outreach who runs the Shark Pantry, said the event was an ice cream social to help students learn more about the pantry.
The Shark Pantry staff wanted to show its presence to students when the fall semester started, Gittleman said.

Andrea Villalba Torres, second-year graduate student in the registered dietitian nutritionist master’s program and NSU Shark Pantry coordinator, said the Shark Pantry is a resource for students.

“Although we do see a lot of individuals when we are open during the [fall and winter] semesters, a lot of people don’t know about us or don’t know exactly what we do,” Villalba Torres said.

Opened in November 2021, the pantry allows students who may be struggling financially to get enough food for free, Gittleman said.

“The real focus and goal of the food pantry was to provide our students access to food so that we could support them, not just in the classroom,” Gittleman said.

Villalba Torres said students can register through PantrySoft, so they can go to the pantry during operating hours.

“Students sign up, we queue them in, put them on the list and then when it is time for them to check out all their food items, they just go in and grab what they need,” Villalba Torres said. “They are allowed 10 pounds of food a week and then they just provide us their name afterwards, once we are at the checkout station.”

The pantry is donation-based and welcomes food and other items from NSU students, NSU faculty and the local community.

One way to donate is through the marked drop-off boxes found on-campus, Villalba Torres said.

“We have one by the pantry just in case the pantry is not open and some students want to drop something off,” Villalba Torres said.

Also, the Shark Pantry works with the Public Safety Office through its “Parking with a Purpose” initiative to acquire food donations.

Gittleman said that in lieu of paying their parking ticket, students can donate items to the pantry amounting to the ticket price.

“Provide the receipt, and we fill out an internal form to let the Public Safety Office know that you have donated these items,” Gittleman said.

Villalba Torres said the donation-based pantry also offers toiletries, beauty supplies and school materials like notebooks and pens.

Constanza Azul Andujar, sophomore international studies major, appreciates that the pantry can offer these items to students.

“What stood out were the feminine hygiene products,” Andujar said. “They had the products laid out.”

Dolores Maqui, junior marketing major, said the pantry helps her get food easily.

“I think it is really nice. For example, when you don’t have a car or maybe you are a bit tight with the budget, it helps and you also feel like the school is giving something back to you,” Maqui said.

Villalba Torres wants to make sure that everyone knows the pantry is open.

“I want to see us grow and continue to be recognized as that resource that is needed on campus,” Villalba Torres said. “I feel Nova has been doing so much already to help decrease food insecurity.”