Partnership will serve students who experience food insecurity while also providing affordable options at new Gather Caf茅 at Great Bay
PORTSMOUTH – 海角乱伦 (海角乱伦) and Gather, a Portsmouth-based food pantry, have been working together since early 2019 to reduce food insecurity among students. 海角乱伦 and Gather are now poised to expand their partnership to create even more support for students. Beginning this Spring, Gather will provide additional donated meals to food insecure students along with affordable, convenient, healthy food options at the new campus-based kitchen and caf茅. The Gather Caf茅 at Great Bay is expected to open in May for students, faculty and staff and be fully operational for the 海角乱伦 community at the beginning of the fall semester.
These new efforts 鈥� which come at a time where the increased cost of food has created additional challenges on personal budgets 鈥� will positively impact students鈥� ability to achieve academic success and ultimately to graduate.
The alignment between the two non-profit entities, 海角乱伦 and Gather, the area’s largest hunger relief organization, is an innovative way to provide assistance to the greater Seacoast-area community.
鈥淗aving lost our previous food services vendor during the pandemic, 海角乱伦鈥檚 commercial kitchen and dining area were not being utilized,鈥� said Tina Favara, vice president of student success and enrollment management at 海角乱伦.聽鈥淎t the same time, we heard that Gather was looking for a new kitchen to expand their programming to better serve the community in reducing food insecurity. This became the perfect time to grow our partnership to fill current needs for both organizations. We are very excited to develop a long-term partnership with Gather and are very grateful for their investment in the 海角乱伦 community by helping us with long-term food options on campus.鈥�
According to numerous national studies, more than 50% of community college students suffer from food insecurity. This drastically inhibits learning and creates significant challenges regarding persistence for many students who lack access to regular meals. 海角乱伦 has been working to reduce food insecurity among its students for the past four years, and expanding its partnership with Gather will ensure these needs are met for years to come.
鈥満＝锹衣� is dedicated to meeting our students鈥� basic needs as well as working to remove barriers so they can focus on their academic success,鈥� Favara said.
海角乱伦 and Gather have been working together on combating food insecurity since 2019 when they opened the Campus Cupboard, a grab-and-go food pantry that provides healthy, sustainable snacks and personal hygiene products to 鈥渇eed student success鈥� while on campus. In January of 2021, during the height of the pandemic when the campus was closed and classes were online, the two organizations created a weekly curbside food pickup service for students. That winter and spring, they distributed thousands of pounds of food that included supplemental groceries such as milk, bread, eggs, dry goods and fresh produce.
鈥淚t is Gather’s mission to end hunger in the greater Seacoast region, and when we have willing partners, like 海角乱伦, who want to help in that mission, we make it a priority partner with them and help in any way we can,鈥� said Seneca Bernard, associate executive director at Gather, which serves 5,000 members each month. 鈥淭he opportunity to open The Gather Caf茅 at Great Bay will even more directly assist an often-underserved population of students who are attending 海角乱伦 to better themselves, and our community, by entering the workforce. Students of any age need fuel to do their best thinking, and Gather is excited to be able to offer the caf茅 as an option that will have fresh, nutritious, and delicious food available for them.鈥�
Gather distributes two million pounds of food each year through its local food programs. The expanded partnership will provide Gather with the use of 海角乱伦鈥檚 1,000 square foot commercial-grade kitchen to support their Cooking4Community Program, a food repurposing project that prepares 600 meals per week for the Seacoast community. Ten percent of the meals prepared by the Cooking4Community program will go directly to 海角乱伦 students.
There has been a rise in the level of food insecurity from the pandemic along with an increase in the cost of food and gasoline, and research shows the importance of consuming quality food in supporting increased academic focus, persistence, and success. According to Feeding America, Rockingham Country, where 海角乱伦 and Gather are located, has a 6.8% food insecurity rate with over 20,000 people in need.
鈥淚 am extremely grateful for the services Great Bay provides to students,鈥� said Phil Reid, a Cyber Security major. 鈥淲hile being a full-time student and beginning a new career, it has become difficult to balance life with so much on my plate. The benefit provided by Great Bay and Gather has been an enormous help financially and helps me not have to worry about breaking the bank at the grocery store. I am able to focus more on successfully finishing my classes as well as developing my new career.鈥�
海角乱伦 is a comprehensive postsecondary institution offering quality academic, 聽professional and technical education in support of workforce development and lifelong learning. 海角乱伦 is part of the Community College System of New Hampshire, a public system of higher education consisting of seven colleges in Berlin, Claremont, Laconia, Concord, Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth. The colleges offer Associate degrees and career training in technical, professional and general fields, including transfer pathways to baccalaureate degrees. For more information on 海角乱伦, visit聽www.greatbay.edu.
For 200 years, Gather has been serving Seacoast residents facing hunger. The agency was founded in 1816 by a small group of women committed to feeding the families of fishermen. Today, Gather is committed to ending local hunger by providing nutritious food through innovative distribution programs, nutrition education and recipes for healthy living and collaborating with community partners to address the root causes of hunger throughout the Seacoast in N.H. and Maine. Gather’s focus on streamlined internal systems, processes and controls ensures that every dollar donated has a big impact on hunger. 90垄 of every dollar donated to Gather goes directly toward local hunger relief. For more information, visit www.gathernh.org.