Volunteer Regional Food Pantry Partners with Unity College
The Volunteer Regional Food Pantry, or VRFP, began 18 years ago serving 10 families out of a church basement. After several relocations and expansions, the VRFP now serves approximately 650 people, most of whom are seniors and children, and operates from a repurposed firehouse. The firehouse acts as a primary storage facility, highly efficient “drive-thru” style distribution center, and meeting space.
Over the past several years, the VRFP slowly began to work with neighboring Unity College, an environmental college. These collaborations included student participation in an Empty Bowls fundraiser to benefit the VRFP and hosting some service clubs.
The leadership and volunteers of the Volunteer Regional Food Pantry and members of the Unity College community saw room for a much more developed connection.
During the past few semesters, classes have taken on projects to support and illuminate the work of the VRFP. For example, Dr. Nancy Ross, Associate Professor of Environmental Policy led a class in researching local hunger last fall semester. This fall her students assisted with the revamping of the VRFP’s print and digital publications, while also lending hands-on help in the food pantry garden.
“Our students have a strong interest in working on issues related to food security and sustainability,” said Jennifer Olin, Community Based Learning Coordinator, who works with faculty to integrate service opportunities into the curriculum. “Expanded support for the VRFP into these areas was a natural next step for the College, because this collaboration is mutually beneficial to the pantry's work and our commitment to student active learning,” she said.
The relationship was further forged when Unity College’s garden program started providing the VRFP with fresh, organic produce for distribution to clients during the 2008 growing season. During the planning process for the 2009 growing season, the College made a commitment to provide produce to the VRFP.
“This piece of the partnership started from a place of practicality,” said Sara Trunzo, Unity College Farm Manager during the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons. “At first, we just wanted produce not being used by our Dining Service department to go to good use. However, getting a better understanding of the local need for healthy foods inspired us to plan to give,” she said.
This new collaboration is especially relevant as the VRFP diversifies its services beyond food distribution; they are now piloting cooking and gardening classes and doing more work with local farmers to tap into the local bounty. Congruously, Unity College has recently launched an Agriculture, Food, and Sustainability degree program and invited Veggies For All, a hunger relief project of the Unity Barn Raisers, to join campus. “This is where our future lies,” said Richard Moore, VRFP acquisition and garden program coordinator, of an emphasis on local resources. “We must feed ourselves. And it is an honor to be teamed up with Unity College to accomplish these goals,” he said.
Additional Info
Volunteer Regional Food Pantry is a 501(c)(3) community-operated food pantry providing emergency and supplementary food and services to those at risk of hunger in the Unity, Maine area. The goal of the VRFP is to increase quality of life through a focus on food security.
Unity College is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education, which emphasizes the environment and natural resources.† Unity College graduates are prepared to be environmental stewards, effective leaders, and responsible citizens through active learning experiences within a supportive community.