Expanded Campus Pantry Fights Food Insecurity at UNM Taos

A recent study at the University of New Mexico Taos (UNM Taos) revealed that 60 percent of students do not have consistent access to the food they need to support an active, healthy lifestyle. Food insecurity can have a detrimental impact on academic performance and short- and long-term health outcomes, so a student resource navigator at UNM Taos reached out to LOR with a solution: expand the school’s current Little Free Pantry into a full indoor food pantry to support students in need.

LOR’s funding will enable the pantry to transition from providing a limited number of non-perishable items to providing a high volume of fresh foods that students can access at no charge via a self-service shopping model. Support from the LOR Foundation will cover the start-up costs associated with the new venture, such as purchasing a commercial refrigerator, freezer, barcode scanner, shelving, shopping baskets, and produce bins.