The Lynn Library’s Food Closet

Lynn Library Helps Fight Food Insecurity


By Gretchen Lembcke-Pena, Editor-in-Chief

During Fall 2022, Director of the Library Amy Filiatreau and Information Desk Librarian Stacy Alesi were inspired to help food insecure students by creating a food insecurity closet.

Originally Alesi’s idea, she and Filiatreau aimed to spread awareness of this ongoing issue among students.

It has since become a tremendous success.

Food insecurity is a prevalent issue across numerous demographics, but it is often overlooked for college students.

Similar to how inflation has contributed to cost-of-living increases resulting in prohibitively expensive housing and rents, other life necessitates like food are showing the same impact.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks monthly and annual changes in the Consumer Price Index to reflect how inflation is affecting Americans, states that the cost of food is now 10.1% higher than it was one year ago, and the cost of food at home is 11.3% higher.

Students, who often find themselves on shoestring budgets, are adversely affected. According to SwipeHunger, a nonprofit seeking to address hunger at the higher education level, one in three college students in America now faces food insecurity.

This is something that Alesi and Filiatreau set out to address at Lynn University.

“Stacy and I had heard stories and anecdotes about students living in their cars, students who are unstable and food insecure and for years, we’ve been trying to get this [food closet] going,” said Filiatreau. “We were trying to partner with other areas, but it just wasn’t working. We just said ‘screw it!’ and started working on it ourselves.”

One concern Alesi initially expressed was about how students would receive the news of the food closet. Would they be offended? Would they complain? As a result, the Lynn Library kept the news of the food closet quiet for a while. Flyers were placed around campus, and eventually, word of mouth helped those in need find the resource.

“The closet is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from noon until 2 p.m.,” said Alesi. “Students can also come any time the library’s open, and by asking, a librarian can let them in to grab what they need. The limit is four items per visit, and we have flyers in case they need any help in their situation.”

The food closet used to include items like chips, candy and other snacks. However,  this caused a problem, since it spread the message that the closet was simply for snacks any student could grab.

To avoid being seen as a vending machine for students in the library, Alesi and Filiatreau have refocused the offerings on proper meal staples like rice, beans and soup. They also offer travel-sized shampoo, conditioner and deodorant in case students cannot afford toiletries.

“We have an anonymous survey for students to fill out about why they come here because we want to see if they just need a snack or are really hungry,” said Filiatreau. “So far, out of the several hundred people who have filled out the survey, the No. 1 reason they come here is because they can’t afford food.”

Filiatreau and Alesi estimate that around 300 students came to the closet to aid their needs during the Fall semester. The fact that over 200 students have used the food closet in the first two months of this semester marks the importance of food insecurity in Lynn University’s campus. If you or anyone you know is food insecure, reach out to afiliatreau@lynn.edu or stalesi@lynn.edu for more information on how to get help.

Overview of the food closet. Photo/Gretchen Lembcke-Pena
Sign notifying students of the purpose of the food closet. Photo/Gretchen Lembcke-Pena

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