Service in Its Third Year Assisting 30-Plus Student Each Month
The Quaker Cupboard is a free resource available to all enrolled Wilmington College students. Students may request non-perishable food items, household staples and personal hygiene products. In its third year, the service operates as a component of the Campus Ministry's Helping Hands Fund. Indeed, the Quaker Cupboard was established as a pandemic-initiated partnership between the offices of Campus Ministry, Academic Success and Service & Civic Engagement.
PICTURED: Chatting while restocking the Quaker Cupboard shelves are (RIGHT) Nate Flack, manager of the Student Resource Center, and sophomore Kendall Saplis, a student worker in the SRC.
During 2020-21, 126 students received more than 225 bags of items and this fall some 30 students have benefited each month. The cost to operate the Quaker Cupboard is a minimum of $600 monthly, which is gained through cash donations and contributions of specific items.
Nate Flack, manager of the adjacent Student Resource Center (SRC), said students are able to order items ala carte from an extensive list of such categories as breakfast options, non-perishable food, microwave quick meals, household items and personal hygiene products. His SRC student workers prepare the bags of items for pick up. Students can access the order form via the College's website: search "Quaker Cupboard."
Sigrid Solomon, vice president, chief student affairs officer/dean of students, said the pandemic placed many families in "trying financial situations, which in some cases have had residual effects on the food security of our students."
She believes the Quaker Cupboard is reflective of a caring campus community and encourages those in need to use the service and those who believe in its merit to consider contributing to the Helping Hands Fund, specifying the Quaker Cupboard. Cash gifts can be made through the College's Office of Advancement and its giving mechanism on WC's website, while contributions of items can be dropped off at the SRC in Robinson Communication Center or the Office of Service and Civic Engagement in Pyle Student Center.
