On Jan. 21 the Pitchfork Pantry, a student-led food pantry that provides free access to food, essential clothing and hygiene products, approached the USG-Tempe Senate regarding their frustration with lack of space and funding from ASU administration.
Senate members met Monday with the Vice President of Student Services Joanne Vogel, Senior Vice President of Educational Outreach and Student Services James Rund, Dean of Students Lance Harrop, Assistant Dean of Students Jen O’Brien, and the USG-T Adviser Leonard Jones to discuss how the senate could support the Pitchfork Pantry.
Hailey Boiarsky, a senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the USG-T government operations chair, presented a bill during a meeting on Feb. 4, recommending the Pitchfork Pantry to work in conjunction with the Dean of Students.
"While the pantry has limited funds ... our Dean of Students, their funding is much, much, much more expansive and much more vast," Boiarsky said. "They have the ability to help students, almost with no cap."
Boiarsky said if the pantry works alongside the dean, they will be able to create a cyclical support system.
Mia Peterson, a senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said this collaboration is something sustainable that they can foster and use to help a lot of people.
USG-T President Mason DoVico said there is an opportunity for the senate to allocate funding to the crisis fund, allowing students to visit the Dean of Students office at any time and request either funds, meal swipes or M&G.
The crisis fund is an immediate transaction offered to students paid by all the governments across ASU campuses. DoVico said they would be reviewing the budget to allocate money for the pantry.
DoVico announced that GSG will be giving the pantry $20,000 and that USG could potentially do the same if voted by the senate, likely in the next session.
"The pantry does have the ability to request through our appropriations team up to $20,000 a semester, and that gets voted on and approved," Boiarsky said.
DoVico said there are a number of ways they can go about allocating money to the pantry, following a discussion with the business office before finalizing a payment method.
"What's most critical here as well is that students are aware of all of the resources that are available to them on campus," Boiarsky said.
The bill was approved by the senate and Boiarsky encourages pantry members to meet with ASU leadership and have conversations about how the Dean of Students can act as a resource.
Peterson said Pitchfork Pantry is doing phenomenal work and the students want to help because it is provides a fundamental resource.
Along with addressing food insecurity, the Dean of Students has initiatives for students to gain access to food, housing, transportation, clothing and technology.
Any student can fill out the care form and be immediately matched with the resources they need from the Dean of Students. A guide to using the Pitchfork Pantry on all four campuses can be found on their website.
Edited by Senna James, Sophia Ramirez and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at nrodri74@asu.edu.
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Natalia is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in creative writing. This is her second semester at The State Press.
