The Roadrunner Kitchen food pantry opened February 2018. It is housed in the Fred L. Mathews Library and was created as a Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society service project to support students experiencing food insecurity. Nationally, 41% of community college students experience food insecurity.
Our food pantry is more successful than we ever imagined. In 2023, the Roadrunner Kitchen served 143 students 1,001 times. We gave a total of 7,707 groceries and 1,996 toiletries, totalling 9,703 items given.
It costs approximately $5,500 per year to operate the food pantry. We continue to see increased student need for our services. Comparing 2023 to 2022, 2023 served 40% more students, 183% more times. We gave 144% more groceries and 361% more toiletries, with 170% more total items given.
Our most popular items include frozen pizza, pot pies, burritos, pasta sauce & noodles, cereal, ramen, granola bars, peanut butter & jelly, crackers, frozen vegetables, can fruit, laundry detergent, and popcorn.
How does it work?
Students visit https://roadrunner-kitchen-food-pantry.square.site/ to submit one order per week. Up to 8 items can be ordered, but many items include multiples for the count of 1. Each morning orders are bagged and placed in a bin just inside the Library doors for contactless pickup. Students have all day to pick up their bag full of pre-chosen food and toiletries. Every current SMC student is eligible to use the food pantry.
