Demand for free groceries from AACC’s food pantry has increased 30% this semester compared with this time last year.
The pantry, located in Room 219 of the Student Union, offers free food and personal care items to students, faculty and staff.
Director Caitlin Silver-Negrón has put out a call for campus groups to donate.
“It’s a trend that’s happening everywhere,” Silver-Negrón, the college’s basic needs coordinator, said. “Groceries are costing a lot more than they previously were. … We’re also seeing those ongoing impacts where folks who fell behind or who suffered during the pandemic didn’t magically catch up, even if they’re back at work now. … We’re seeing that the impacts are really still rippling out.”
The food pantry isn’t the only on-campus support service with increased demand. According to Silver-Negrón, demand for HelpLink, which offers emergency short-term financial support to students, has increased by about 440% this semester compared with the average.

“I oversee, you know, a few different initiatives and they’re all experiencing increased demand,” Silver-Negrón said. “As we come back from the pandemic, I think we’re seeing that a lot of folks are still experiencing the impact that came about, you know, between losing jobs and having to caretake for … their children, their parents, their siblings.”

Food insecurity is hard to measure, Silver-Negrón added, so the food pantry doesn’t require proof of need from the students, faculty and staff using it.
“A lot of times we think of food insecurity as … black and white,” Silver-Negrón said. “It’s either you’re hungry or you’re not hungry. But that’s just not the reality.”
Silver-Negrón added: “We encourage it the most for those that really need it, but we are open to all.”