TU in Northeastern Maryland begins foodshare, pantry

By Kyle Hobstetter on July 13, 2021

Towson University in Northeastern Maryland (TUNE) has always looked for ways to help its community.

Allison Frey, director of student services at TUNE, says students frequently talk about organizing programs and events to collect food, clothing and toiletries for local charities.

But the conversations always come back to how students also need these items.

“We started having conversations about what that would look like and how we can help create success for them,” Frey says. “That’s our ultimate goal: to help our students see success inside and outside of the classroom.”

Those discussions evolved into requests for a foodshare program. While there are other food pantries in the area, TUNE saw a need to directly help the student community on campus. 

For inspiration, Frey looked at TU’s main campus foodshare, which celebrated its fifth anniversary this past April.

Read more: Five years of the TU FoodShare

Working with Anthony Skevakis, TU’s associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students, she applied to the AmeriCorps VISTA program and was accepted.

Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) sends individuals to programs around the country aimed at eradicating poverty. This includes food insecurity, which, according to Feeding America, will affect more than 54 million Americans this year due to COVID-19, a dramatic increase from 37 million in 2018. 

Courtney Insley ’21 started as the AmeriCorps VISTA representative this July, and is working with the newly created TUNE FoodShare.

Insley grew up in Harford County and graduated with a bachelor’s in health education & promotion[BROKEN LINK].  

“For her to be a Harford County resident and a TU alum, she is super excited for this,” Frey says. “She interned at TUNE last semester and created a recipe book for us. We know this is her passion. This is a good first step for her to get her feet wet.”

The TUNE FoodShare has a three-year plan in place. By the end of those three years, the program hopes to have a new food pantry, training curriculum, involvement from community partners, an advisory committee and a funding stream to keep the project sustainable.

Frey even says they are looking at larger projects for the future, including hosting a farmer’s market, holding a wellness fair, partnering with a local farm to provide fresh produce and starting a TUNE community garden.

John Desmone, TUNE’s executive director, says TUNE faculty and staff aim to provide their students with everything they need.

“The more things that we create here, the better we can help our students get the support they need,” Desmone says.

To learn more about what’s going on at the Towson University in Northeastern Maryland campus, check out the TUNE Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.