Sam Musgrove, a fourth-year in business administration and president of Buckeye Food Alliance, shows off some of the food the program provides. Credit: Courtesy of Nick Fowler
With many Ohio State students unable to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic and others living off campus for the first time, the risk of food insecurity has perhaps never been higher.
The Buckeye Food Alliance is working to help students gain access to nutrition to ensure they don’t sacrifice their health to pay their bills. Despite unforeseen limitations and changes, Nick Fowler, Buckeye Food Alliance coordinator, said the organization is on track to reach 6,000 visits by the end of the school year — more than double the previous year’s total.
“Sometimes students say that, ‘Oh, I’ve got food, but I’m having trouble paying my utilities or I need to buy books,’” Fowler said. “We don’t want students to have to make that choice.”
The nonprofit student organization was founded in 2016 to ensure that Ohio State students have access to affordable, healthy food, according to its website. Operating out of Suite 150 of Lincoln Tower and the basement of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, the organization typically offers students the opportunity to walk in and choose a variety of healthy foods from their pantry on a weekly basis.
However, at the start of the pandemic the organization found itself needing to adjust — both to a greater influx of students coming in and the increased need to keep its volunteers safe, Fowler said.
“We definitely saw an increase in March or April of students coming in, and I think it was definitely due to COVID,” Sam Musgrove, president of Buckeye Food Alliance and a fourth-year in business administration, said.
To keep the staff safe, Fowler said the organization limited the number of volunteers per shift and temporarily stopped serving people at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, which is at the intersection of North High Street and East Woodruff Avenue. Instead of functioning as a walk-in pantry, Fowler said the organization created an online ordering form. Students choose what food and supplies they need and specify a pickup time to limit in-person contact.
“[Online ordering] was something that was always in the works,” Fowler said. “But the pandemic put the pressure on to get that figured out a little more quickly.”
The doubled number of visits may have been influenced by the pandemic, Fowler and Musgrove said.
“For the first time, I’ve had students come in and say, ‘Unemployment sucks.’ I’ve had somebody mention, ‘I wouldn’t typically be here, but I know this Friday is my last paycheck,’ because they work in the service industry,” Fowler said. “It’s hard to ignore that many of our students work in the service industry and see how many of those jobs have disappeared on and around campus.”
Fowler said businesses and organizations such as Kroger, the Mid-Ohio Food Collective and UNITY Fridge provide food and supplies, enabling the organization to respond to the sudden increase in demand. With these collaborations and an increase in donations, he said the organization has consistently provided groceries to the growing number of students.
Fowler said students don’t need proof of financial burden — only a valid BuckID. He said this is intentional and allows the pantry to serve all students, whether they use it as their main source of groceries or if they need a quick snack between classes.
“Our goal is to really make food accessible to everyone on our campus regardless of where they fall on that food insecurity spectrum because food needs are just so different from person to person,” Fowler said.
The Buckeye Food Alliance pantry is located in Lincoln Tower and is open to those with a valid BuckID Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 4-8 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Students can place orders on its online ordering form. For walk-in ordering, call 614-688-2508 to be let into the pantry. More information can be found on the organization’s website.
