Prior to the pandemic, the pantry was open five days a week to serve students in two ways: the Grocery program allowed students to take home a bag of groceries, thus reducing the pressure on families for basic grocery purchases, and the Grab and Go program supported students experiencing hunger during the school day while they were on campus. A popular program among students, NVCC’s Grab and Go program grew quickly, with the number of items distributed increasing from 3,420 in fall 2018 to 7,948 in fall 2019.  

Since the number of students needing food while on campus has been greatly reduced by COVID requirements, the opportunity for families to receive groceries for take-home is more important than ever. To address this need, NVCC created an online ordering system from which students may shop online and choose foods from a list of available inventories. Pantry staff assemble the grocery orders, and students make appointments to pick up their groceries. This method ensures the safety of pantry staff and students while still fulfilling students’ needs.  This fall semester alone, the NVCC Student Food Pantry has distributed approximately 2,462 pounds of groceries to students, a number that Associate Dean of Development, Angela Chapman, anticipates will increase significantly. 

For the Thanksgiving holiday, staff assembled boxes for students that  provided an entire turkey dinner, complete with all the fixings! Elizabeth Catuccio (left in photo) and Marcia Parent (right in photo) put together over 30 boxes to distribute to students who requested them. Parent has been instrumental in building new systems that support students through the pandemic. Her 35-hour/week position is supported through NVCC’s third year of an Americorps VISTA Campus Compact grant whose goal is to develop systems, build relationships and community partnerships that support the development and sustainability of our pantry.  

To prepare to meet the anticipated increasing needs amidst the pandemic, staff and faculty continue to fundraise. The donations from the Leavenworth Foundation and Ion Bank Foundation are especially helpful and augment the COVID-19 emergency response fund that began when the campus closed in March. At that time, the NVCC Student Food Pantry was awarded funding through the United Way of Greater Waterbury and the Connecticut Community Foundation emergency response fund, which helped the pantry transition quickly by offering a home delivery of essential foods through the online ordering system.  NVCC was also awarded gift cards from Stop & Shop as well as generous contributions from faculty and staff. During the spring semester the College shipped over 316 packages to students in need and distributed gift cards.   

Future fundraising plans include a virtual 5k run or walk, under the leadership of Professor Christine Cocchiola, scheduled for Sunday, March 28 at 10 a.m.  There is a $25 donation registration fee and participants can run or walk virtually from their neighborhoods. https://runsignup.com/Race/CT/Waterbury/NVCCFoodPantryFundRaisingRunWalk 

At NVCC’s recent All-College meeting, Associate Dean Chapman thanked the community, faculty, and staff for their dedicated support of the Student Food Pantry. “It is because of your support that we are able to continue to help our students who are experiencing food insecurity.  We are sincerely grateful for all you do to make this critical service possible for our students.”