Utilizing Little Pantries to Address Campus Food Insecurity: A Qualitative Exploration of College Student Experiences

Background and Purpose: Food insecurity is becoming an epidemic in college. Approximately one in three college students experience food insecurity. A large body of research indicates that food-insecure students often struggle to meet other basic needs and these interconnected insecurities impact their academic success, physical well-being, and mental health. The campus food pantry is the most common programmatic intervention in higher education. Research shows substantial benefits of college pantries in buffering food insecurity and its negative impacts while finding common barriers to on-campus pantry use. We developed an innovative pantry model, the Little Pantry Program (Little Pantries) by deploying miniature pantries across campus, inspired by the Little Neighborhood Library movement. We conducted a formative evaluation to assess whether the Little Pantries (a) increased pantry access and (b) lowered the potential stigma students might feel from utilizing food assistance.

Methods: This exploratory qualitative research utilized focus groups. We recruited diverse college students in a public university, who indicated that they experienced food insecurity and had used the Little Pantries on campus, using purposive sampling in 2023 (N = 13). Half of the participants were identified as female (53.85%) or first-generation students (46.15%), and 46.15% self-identified as White. We performed three focus group interviews, with four to five students in each group for approximately 90 minutes. After transcribing audio-recorded interviews, we conducted a thematic analysis to identify emerging themes.

Results: First, our research revealed that the Little Pantries significantly facilitated the availability and accessibility of food assistance. Focus groups consistently noted that the Little Pantries were “available” in multiple locations across campus, supplying grab-and-go style food. Also, focus groups frequently testify that Little Pantries helped food easily “accessible” in several ways. Students consistently showed that the multiple locations of Little Pantries were adequately close to their common areas (e.g., classroom, library, gym), supporting that the geographic proximity helped students quickly curb their hunger between classes. Second, the enhanced accessibility appears to decrease the stigma around pantry use. Our focus groups suggested that such feelings were often observed among first-generation and BIPOC students who disproportionately lack adequate information and access to campus resources. Our data also supported that the Little Pantries’ visibility in common campus areas increased the awareness of campus food assistance, particularly for students who did not know about or rarely visited the Main Pantry. The convenient placement of the Little Pantries in public areas contributed to validating food insecurity as a prevalent challenge among students and normalizing the experience.

Discussion and Implications: Our findings provide evidence that the practice model of small satellite/mobile pantries demonstrates a promising strategy to complement traditional on-campus food pantries. This strategy not only increases access to resources but also diminishes the stigma associated with food assistance and fosters a stronger sense of community. We will discuss lessons learned and practical strategies for effectively implementing the Little Pantries initiatives.