UW-Eau Claire Opens Food Pantry For Students

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the latest campus in Wisconsin to open a food shelf for students.

The Campus Harvest food pantry opened its doors on Sept. 2, the first day of classes. Pantry supervisor Julie Carr said that it immediately drew students. “We had somebody right there the first day — walked in as soon as we opened up,” she said.

Campus Harvest has been open for six days, and Carr says they’ve served around 30 students.

“I figured nobody would show up the first week, because people say that a lot of students are ashamed that they don’t have enough money to buy food,” she said..

Eau Claire is the latest addition to a growing list of UW campuses with food pantries that includes La Crosse, Superior and Stevens Point. Carr said it’s not uncommon for students to need help buying food.

“They get scholarships, or they are able to get a certain amount of grants for their tuition, or they scrape up enough by working to make tuition. They don’t quite have enough money to meet their needs, so the thing that goes is the food,” Carr said.

Campus Harvest is funded in part by the UW-Eau Claire Foundation and by donations from the Feed My People Food Bank.