Inside Sorin Hall, right outside of the Sorin Game Room, sits a table and fridge that houses food for students 24/7. This crucial resource was crafted by Feed Your Brain (FYB), a student-led initiative to increase awareness of food insecurity and increase food access for Hamline students.
This table was created by FYB because the Food Resource Center (FRC), is not open at all hours of the day. Therefore, students in need did not always have access to free food as they should. This conversation was sparked by FYB’s monthly “Food & Chats,” where they discuss food accessibility for students on campus.
“Through our various meetings, we came to the conclusion that Hamline was lacking a spot where students could get food 24/7 on campus. Thus, we created the ‘24/7 Food Access Fridge’ idea.” FYB officer sophomore Kaitlynn Fuller said over email. “Logistically, Sorin was the best spot to put the station, due to it being the only building open 24/7. We got approval from the Director of Public Safety, Illiana Cantu Delgado and then we went ahead and purchased a fridge and a folding table using our student organization budget.”
Upon implementing this table, FYB was absolutely astounded by the popularity the station attracted and how quickly the food flew off the shelves.
“The impact has blown us away — we have stocked it a few times and every time it has run out of food within days, even with us spending $300- $400 each time to keep it stocked,” FYB officer senior said.
Students and staff who are often in Sorin have noticed the buzz the station has generated as well.
“I have noticed that once they have refilled the table, things go pretty fast!” Student Dispatcher junior Maggie Paoli said over email.
Although FYB is elated by the positive impact this table has had on the Hamline community and how it has allowed them to carry out their mission of minimizing student food insecurity, difficulties have arisen regarding keeping the station stocked.
“We are not able to keep stocking up due to FYB’s limited organization budget as well as our limited number of people who are able to commit to stocking it, due to it being a several hour commitment. We want to do that and want to keep it filled, but it has been a challenge,” Maroney said.
Despite the small group of four FYB leaders having their own schedules to attend to and budget constraints, they fully intend to keep up the initiative and are delighted to see people taking advantage of their resources.
“This is why students may see that the fridge and table are often empty, but we will be doing another grocery run before the end of the semester,” Fuller said over email.
In addition to another grocery run, more improvements to the way the station is run and interacted with by students are anticipated in the near future.
“We are looking to create sign-ups for non-leader FYB members to sign up for food runs and a calendar alert system so students can see when restocks will be happening,” Maroney said.
Improvements are coming to the actual station setup itself as well, and FYB is looking to expand into the FRC’s space to expand and grow its impact.
“We are hoping to get a shelf from the FRC, but that may not be until this summer or next semester. We are also hoping to increase the signage at the station so more students are inclined to check it out. Unfortunately, the handles on the fridge have been quite fragile, so we may need to replace those as well,” Fuller said over email.
However, with growth comes the need for more volunteers and hands on deck. The FYB leadership group is pushing for more volunteers to assist with food runs and restocking the station to make consistent restocks more feasible and efficient.
“We are always looking for people who are willing to make grocery runs (using the FYB [organization] budget), donate food, or just check in on the station and make sure it stays tidy,” Fuller said over email.
Interested in contributing to this pivotal resource spearheading 24/7 food access on campus? Or passionate about food justice in general? Email justfeedyourbrain@hamline.edu or reach out to FYB via Instagram @feedyourbrainhu to get connected to leadership.
Additionally, there is a QR code at the table itself to inquire about what a volunteer is interested in helping with and an anonymous QR code for users of the station containing some short questions that help FYB maintain and improve the table.
The FYB leaders look forward to expanding, improving and consistently stocking the station with time and assistance from volunteers and FYB members.
“Please be patient with us as we continue to improve this resource,” Fuller said over email.