Shelves at the University of Miami Canes Community Food Pantry were nearly empty on Thursday, Sept. 4, and not a single staff member was in the pantry.
The pantry was created by the Student Government Environment & Conservation Organization in 2021 to provide resources for students who may face food insecurity and divert waste from grocery stores. Today, the food pantry, located in Lakeside Village room 1054, relies on donations from Good Samaritan Meals and the UM community. The hours are Monday to Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m and Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
According to Temple University, 3.9 million undergraduates in the U.S. experience food insecurity. Frontiers in Public Health reported that college students who experience food insecurity often have challenges that are significant enough to reduce their likelihood of graduating by 42%.
Several frustrated students waited inside in the pantry, some for several hours, uncertain whether anyone would come to assist them. At closing time, students were met with the lights going down and the door automatically locking at 7 p.m. while their hunger continued.
“I’m not surprised. I used to come last year. I would leave with soda, ramen noodles and sometimes bread,” said Dewan Tauhid Rahman, a graduate student at UM. “There were no vegetables or meat.”
According to the Canes Community Food Pantry website and multiple emails to graduate students, the pantry should have resumed regular operations on Aug. 19, the first day of class.
The University of Miami Division of Student Affairs responded with a statement to The Miami Hurricane that the pantry is not currently entirely operational, contradicting the website.
“At this time, the Canes Community Food Pantry is not fully operational, as the Division of Student Affairs is in the final stages of hiring student employees to help stock, maintain, and accept donations for the pantry,” the University Division of Student Affairs said. “Typically, the pantry receives about 40 visitors each week with a large increase in visitors during midterm and final exams.”
In addition to staffing issues and the lack of food, some of the food in the pantry was past the expiration date. Some examples are an Outshine brand smoothie that was dated Dec. 2024 and even a container of unidentified brown, separated food.
Masters student Jennifer Lee says that walking into the pantry, the University’s priorities felt misplaced.
“You cannot advertise stuff like this and have absolutely nothing and no one in here. It frustrates me,” Lee said. “When I walked to get here, I passed the nail and hair beauty salon, like, ok, that’s nice, but like, why is that a priority over literal food? Then this place isn’t welcoming, it looks like a closet compared to everything else at this campus.”
Not having access to a fully-stocked pantry isn’t just an issue at UM. Nearly one in 11 people around the world goes to bed hungry each night, according to World Hunger Facts.
“I was just about to [fill out] the food stamps application, now I’m even more worried after seeing [the pantry],” said Lee.
Despite students waiting in an almost bare, unstaffed pantry for hours, The University of Miami said in a statement to The Hurricane that student attendants are in the pantry most of the time and stock the pantry weekly.
“The pantry is stocked weekly by student employees thanks to philanthropic support from generous University of Miami alumni and friends, as well as donations from student organizations and local charities. During most operating hours, a student attendant is in the pantry. Safe food consumption rules are posted throughout the pantry,” The University Division of Student Affairs said.