On March 22, 2017, we officially opened our doors to serve ALL OU students, staff, and faculty on the Norman campus.
The OU Food Pantry started as an initiative within OU's Student Government Association in Spring 2016. Under the leadership of SGA President Daniel Pae and Vice President Michael Lutter, the Executive Cabinet spent months researching, planning, and brainstorming what a food pantry on OU's campus would look like. After running into some challenges, the program began to take shape late in 2016 and into the early part of 2017. We assembled the first-ever student staff consisting of the following individuals: Justin Ballou, Katie Dail, Melissa Henngier, Caleb Knowles, Matt Marks, Haley Mattei, Emily Sharp, Molly Sparks, and Jacob Thomas.
Our pantry started and has always been a student-run initiative and these original nine students ran the operations, marketing, donations, and logistical operations of the pantry. In our first few weeks we saw anywhere from 20-30 clients each week. Those numbers would climb fast. During the next few years, we would see 50...70...100...120 clients a week. Even during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, our pantry stayed open. We wanted to continue to serve our students and staff who were still living or working on campus, and even then we saw 30-40 clients a week.
When students returned to campus, our numbers increased yet again. 120 became the new normal but it did not stop there. We saw 130...140...160...185 clients a week. In spring of 2022, our record was 185 clients in one week (set in March). "One of the main reasons we are seeing more and more clients each week is because of the work of our student staff in getting the word out across campus. I could not be more proud of this team," says Campus Care Coordinator Matt Marks. As of Fall 2024, the student staff that once was nine students, sits at 90. We have seven teams within the student staff: Operations, Logistics, Campus Engagement, Development, Digital Media, Health & Advocacy, and Recovery & Distribution. Led by Student Director Royce Coleman, the 2024-25 team is poised to make the OU Food Pantry a model for other campus food pantry structures.
On August 23, 2022 the OU Food Pantry opened in its brand new location at Cate Main (333 Cate Center Drive) with an effort to make the food pantry much more than food. Within the first weeks of opening, the pantry consistently served over 400 clients per week.
"As food insecurity grows on our campus, having a community center-type feel to the new space will make this a much more comfortable place for our clients," says Marks. The new and improved OU Food Pantry now offers food, clothing, books, and fresh produce, with the hope of adding additional resources in the future.
This place will continue to be a game-changer for our OU community. Thank you for supporting us in the past, and for your continued support in the future!
- The OU Food Pantry Team
