The Crimson Cupboard, a pantry that provides free food to students and Bloomington residents in need, will be seizing a variety of new opportunities this year.
A surge of volunteers will allow the cupboard to be open for more hours, executive director Erika Wheeler said. The cupboard will also carry fresh produce from the IU Campus Garden in addition to becoming a member agency of the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which allows them to increase their budget.
The Crimson Cupboard has seen its client base nearly double within the last month.
Wheeler said she believes this rise in client numbers is due to outreach and promotion of the cupboard in the Bloomington community, in particular IU students.
The cupboard will be open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays, and from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.
“Accessibility is one of our greatest concerns,” Wheeler said. “We have food, but if people can’t make it during our regular hours then it’s pointless.”
Due to the rise in volunteers, the pantry is able to stay open five days a week this semester versus the two days a week it was open in previous semesters, she said. While in the past there were 4 volunteers at most, there are now close to 40.
Freshman Dorothy Vincent and sophomore Regine Vincent spend some of their time volunteering at the cupboard. They said they believe the added hours will benefit students.
“We really want to work around the student’s schedule,” Regine said. “Opening it more days allows more students to have access to the pantry.”
Being open for more hours allows for a wider client base and causes a quicker depletion of food. Funding for the cupboard, which depends on only donations and IU club funding, was a worrisome topic for some volunteers, Regine said.
“When we were relying on taking our money to grocery stores, even though we were shopping very frugally, it did not go very far,” Wheeler said.
The Crimson Cupboard will now be a member agency of the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, she said. This allows volunteers to shop for food priced at 16 cents per pound and receive free items such as produce and bread.
“We are going to be able to stretch that money much further, so our place in the campus community is more secure now,” Wheeler said.
Regine said she believes this partnership will allow the volunteers to keep the pantry well stocked.
“They won’t have to worry about coming in and not having things in the pantry,” Regine said. “It will provide more variety of what’s in the pantry.”
As new food items from the Hoosier Hills Food Bank will hit the Crimson Cupboard shelves, so will a variety of fresh produce from the Campus Garden located at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center.
A variety of vegetables such as kale and chard were available in the cupboard this past week, Wheeler said. She said she believes this will create a healthier atmosphere in the cupboard.
“It’s a lot of cans, a lot of boxes, a lot of good food but not necessarily whole food, so this connection with Campus Gardens means we will be able to provide our clients with nutritious, healthy, fresh things that are not only good for you but grown just up the road,” Wheeler said.
Dorothy said she believes fresh produce will be a good option for students that cannot afford to buy these healthier options.
“With the produce we can provide them a healthier option and not have them rely on mac and cheese every day” Dorothy said.
Overall, members are very excited to see how these changes benefit clients of the Crimson Cupboard, Regine said.
“Just coming in and seeing how much it has grown is very exciting,” she said. “I really hope that it grows even bigger and really impacts the community.”
