At the start of the 2022–23 academic year, Moore College of Art & Design was awarded a PA Hunger-Free Campus designation by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This designation is awarded to schools that focus on addressing hunger and other basic needs for their students, and will remain in effect for two years. During this time, the Department of Education will also support opportunities for the College to apply for grants related to addressing food insecurity. More info on the initiative can be found here.
“We have spent time over the last couple of years creating resources for students so there’s no barriers for success,” says Josh Wilkin, Ph.D., Dean of Students. “We want to make it easier for students who may be struggling to be able to stay here at Moore.”
Wilkin says that the implementation of these resources all began with the resource pantry, which first came about as a food pantry, in the fall 2020 semester, opened by the Student Government Association.
Ryan Harris ’24 and Leah Stein ’24 in the resource pantry in the Student Affairs office in Stahl Hall.
After seeing the positive student response to this resource, Student Affairs brought in a summer associate through Americorps in 2021 to research ways that Moore could continue to address food insecurity. By the beginning of the fall 2021 semester, the food pantry had expanded into the resource pantry that it is today.
Today, the resource pantry provides students with a number of resources, including food, clothing, menstrual and personal care products, art supplies—anything that students might have a need for.
Members of the Moore community can help maintain the resource pantry in a number of ways, including in-person donations, purchasing items from an Amazon Wishlist and contributing to a drive, which Student Affairs hosts throughout the year.
Student Affairs also offers a number of financial resources for students. The aftermath emergency fund was implemented after an anonymous donor learned about the resource pantry and decided to provide Moore students with a resource similar to one they received during their own time in college, after an unexpected emergency almost jeopardized their continued enrollment in school. The Anna Russell Jones Award is awarded to traditionally underrepresented students to subsidize the cost of art kits, books, transportation costs and meals. In addition, Student Affairs offers transportation and meal vouchers for commuter students.
If you have any questions about the resource pantry, including how or what to donate, contact Student Affairs at studentaffairs@moore.edu! More information about all of Student Affairs services can be found here.
