It’s easy to take good fortune for granted. As the expression goes, most of us know where our next meal is coming from. Yet many members of the UC student body struggle to secure what we might call “the bare essentials” as they strive to succeed in college. Enter the Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center, which serves these students in need while creating a tremendous opportunity for a UC family with a history of helping each other when it matters most.
National Food Bank Day was Sept. 1, which kicked off National Hunger Action Month. This brings the work of the Bearcats Pantry to the forefront. With a presence on the UC Blue Ash and UC Clermont campuses in addition to its primary location on the Uptown campus, the Bearcats Pantry served nearly 1,500 students during the 2022-23 academic year, almost doubling its impact from the previous year. Since it was established seven years ago, its range of assistance has similarly grown. In addition to food (including some cultivated from its own garden) and meal vouchers, the Bearcats Pantry provides personal hygiene and cleaning supplies, a career closet to help students look the part in interviews, and community connections for those facing housing challenges. Especially moving is Elizabeth Gillespie’s recent experience receiving assistance first during her pregnancy and then as a student with a child. To sustain this vital resource, over $125,000 was raised for the three Bearcats Pantries during the 2022-23 year. Unfortunately, the need is ongoing.
As UC alumni, we all have stories about hurdles we had to clear during our student years, and we rarely did so entirely on our own. At today’s UC, the Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center offers alumni the chance to help some of our fellow Bearcats in the most fundamental way. I encourage you to consider lending your support to this life-altering resource.
Go Bearcats!
