Published April 2, 2020
It’s a beautiful spring day in Northeast Louisiana; the kind of day suspended between
the wind chill of January and the airless heat of August. At the University of Louisiana
Monroe Activity Center, there’s a steady flow of students. Dressed in shorts and Warhawks
T-shirts, the students aren’t there to pace on treadmills or play basketball. They
came for the free food.
PHOTO: A student stocks the ULM food pantry inside the Activity Center. The food pantry
provides non-perishable food items at no cost to students with a valid ID. The food
pantry is open noon-3 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
ULM Photo Services
ULM’s student food pantry remains open despite the center’s closure due to COVID-19.
The food pantry hours have been adjusted to noon-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Students can knock at the front door to enter or call 318-342-5305.
The food pantry is sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs and managed by Brandon
Bruscato, Director of Recreational Services, with volunteer support from the SGA and
CAB, under the guidance of Student Life and Leadership Director Emily Essex. The food
is from the Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana. It is available to all ULM students,
with a valid ID, at no cost.
“We are here to provide services for the students and will continue to stay open for
them,” said Bruscato. “I believe the need for the food pantry will continue to grow
during the COVID-19 crisis.”
The food pantry started this semester, and at that time, students could come in and
get what they needed. Bruscato said regulations enacted because of COVID-19 had changed
that, for the time being.
“An Activity Center employee, practicing social distancing and taking sanitary measures,
lets the student in and leads them to the entry of the food pantry. All the products
are visible from the doorway. The student tells the employee what they want, and the
employee puts the items in bags and gives them to the student,” Bruscato said.
The pantry is well stocked with nonperishables – canned fruits and vegetables, beans,
rice, lentils, flour, peanut butter, and other items, plus some beverages.
“The food pantry is a resource for students, and we want them to use it,” said Vice
President of Student Affairs Camile Currier.
