The OU Food Pantry provides supplemental food and household items free to all OU students, faculty and staff.
For incoming first-year or transfer students, this community outreach resource can be a helping hand during a transitional period. The pantry often collaborates with other organizations on campus to expand its resources and services, providing boxed and canned goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, clothing, menstrual products and household items.
One of the pantry’s goals is to offer well-rounded, nutrient-rich meals and ingredients. This includes a variety of accessible food groups, like kosher and halal food.
Matt Marks, OU Food Pantry assistant director, said he and his team have aimed to create not only a food pantry but a community-centered environment.
“We want the food pantry to be a home for everyone that walks through the door,” Marks said. “We’re not perfect. We know we can’t meet every need, but we’re going to try, and we’re going to give you that great hospitality as best we can.”
In 2022, the food pantry was moved from 1113 Elm Ave. to 331 Cate Center Drive, allowing for more room as the organization continued to grow. Marks said the location is more central than the last, allowing students to notice it as they walk by on their way to class.
Marks said the difficulty of working multiple jobs to afford attending OU has driven many students to rely on the food pantry.
“We know we’re not like a grocery store where we’re going to have everything,” Marks said. “There’s going to be times where it’s hit or miss, but we try to provide what we can, and (newcomers) will expect a friendly face when they walk in the door. We want it to be a very inclusive, safe environment for everyone walking in.”
Over the years, Marks has had conversations with students about their financial situations and how much the food pantry means to them.
“Answering questions and just building relationships, that’s one of the things I really love about what we’re able to do,” Marks said. “You get to be brought into the lives of our clients.”
Danna Sanchez, an operations team member for the pantry in 2023-24, said the food pantry is for everyone in the OU community.
“I do see it as a safe place for a lot of people that go in because we do get a lot of those regulars in that are always there at the same time, making the same thing,” Sanchez said. “So that consistency within the community, that you know we’re always going to be here whenever (you) need it.”
Sanchez said her biggest goal at the pantry is to diversify the food that is available, such as expanding the variety of ethnic foods to make it as welcoming as possible.
“We all struggle through college. We’ve all been there, done that. And there’s no reason that food insecurity should be one of your issues or one of the problems that you face when you’re coming into university,” Sanchez said. “You should be able to study and do whatever you need to do here without having to deal with that issue, and that’s what we’re here for.”
To access the OU Food Pantry’s services, patrons must fill out an order form, either in person or online, and present an OU ID at time of pick up. The OU Food Pantry is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We’re all going to go through a time in our life where we’re going to need a little help, and that’s why we exist,” Marks said. “It’s a very easy process. We try to make it as simple as possible for people to utilize.”
