WE cARE Pantry and Food Insecurity

Eligibility: Any PSU student currently enrolled in classes is welcome to access the WE cARE Pantry. During each visit, students must present their valid Penn State ID card.

• During operational hours, students may check-in at the desk and show the WE cARE Pantry employee or volunteer their PSU ID. After their ID has been verified, students will be given a bag to shop with. Students who are new to the Pantry will be offered a tour.

• Each student is limited to 1 food bag and 1 household necessities/personal hygiene bag to shop with per visit. Please respect item limits to ensure that all students who have a need can access resources. If you are uncertain or confused about the limit, please ask an employee or volunteer for clarity and support.

• When a student is finished shopping, the checkout process includes an employee or volunteer weighing their bag(s). There is no weight limit, however, we need to weigh your bag to report the amount of food that we distribute in total to Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. 

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity could be ongoing for many years or it could be a short-term challenge brought on by any number of circumstances.

Students can access food pantries provided by their local communities and by most Penn State campuses.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federally funded program that helps millions of eligible, low-income households and individuals purchase nutritious and healthy food at participating grocery stores and farmers markets. 

Please note that SNAP is an entitlement program. This means if you receive SNAP, you are not taking benefits away from “someone who needs it more.” Everyone who is found eligible always receives the full benefit they are entitled to by law.

Students are eligible for SNAP, as long as you...

• Meet all typical SNAP eligibility requirements, such as the income limits. Your financial aid and/or work-study earnings are not counted. 
  • NOTE: If you are 21 or younger and live at home with your parent(s), their income must be considered when determining your eligibility.;
• Do not have a meal plan - or- you have a meal plan that provides 10 or fewer meals per week averaged over the course of a semester.
• Qualify for at least one of the following student exemptions:
  • Exemptions based on Enrollment Status
    • Attending high school;
    • Enrolled in school less than half-time, as determined by your school; or
    • Attending a school or training program that is not an institution of higher education, meaning a school (or special curriculum at a college) which doesn’t require you have a high school diploma or GED to enroll.
  • Exemptions based on Age or Disability
    • Under age 18;
    • Age 50 or older; or
    • Physically or mentally unfit.
  • Exemptions based on being a Parent or Caretaker
    • Receiving TANF benefits;
    • Caring for a child under age 6;
    • Caring for a child age 6-11 if childcare is unavailable; or
    • Single parent caring for a child age 6-11 and going to school full-time.
  • Exemptions based on Work or Training
    • Working 20 hours per week;
    • Self-employed and earning at least $145 per week;
    • Participating in a work-study program, regardless of hours or earnings;
    • Participating in an on-the-job-training program (OJT); or
    • Enrolled in school through certain workforce development programs.
  • Special Exemption for Programs that Increase Employability
    • Be enrolled in school through or in compliance with a DHS-approved state or local program to increase employability (approved programs).

How to Apply for SNAP

There are several ways to apply for SNAP, and you can apply even if you are not sure if you are eligible:

• Online: Apply for or renew your SNAP benefits online using COMPASS.
• Phone: Call 1-866-550-4355 to apply via phone Monday – Friday, 9am to 5pm.
• In person: Submit an application at your county assistance office. You can get your application at your county assistance office or download an application using the links below, print the application, fill it out, and return it to your county assistance office.
  • Application for benefits (English)
  • Solicitud para recibir beneficios (Español)

Need help applying?

If you need help applying for SNAP, call or text “APPLY” to Central Pennsylvania Food Bank’s Helpline at 1-877-999-5964. Hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Their associates can also help find additional food assistance programs such as a food pantry, soup kitchen, et cetera.

Questions may also be directed to Penn State Harrisburg’s WE cARE Pantry at [email protected]. 

How to use SNAP benefits

If you are approved for SNAP benefits you will receive a Pennsylvania Access Card and a PIN, which works just like a debit card. Then, you can use your SNAP benefits at a various retail locations and online with participating retailers.

You may be wondering if you “qualify” for use of campus food insecurity resources, or if your situation “is as bad as someone else” you may know. Due to how college student hunger is often portrayed or thought of as a rite of passage, or "that's just how college is," you may even be wondering if the kind of hunger you may be experiencing even matters that much. We want you to hear that it does matter, that your experience matters, and that no student should ever have to go hungry to stay in college.

Location: Church Hall, room 306

Directions:

• Go to University Drive / Meade Ave: Coming from the main part of campus, turn onto University Drive, which is across from the west wing of the Olmstead Building. This road is also called Meade Avenue.
• Turn onto Alumni Drive: If you are coming from the main part of campus, this will be a left turn. Coming from the Sheetz area, this will be a right turn.
• Go to Church Hall: Church Hall is the first building in the parking lot. The entrance is along the left side, close to the greenhouses.
• Go to the third floor: When you enter Church Hall, there is an elevator on the left. Through the doors and around the corner is a stairwell.
• Go left and down the hallway: When you get off the elevator or the stairs on the third floor, go to the hallway and turn left.  
• Go to room 306: The pantry is located in 306, which is toward the end of the hallway on the left

The WE cARE Pantry stocks grocery staples, personal hygiene products, and household necessities such as dish soap, utensils, etc.

Seeking assistance through the WE cARE Pantry can take some courage. It's hard to ask for help and it can certainly be hard to trust another person or an organization with personal information. Please know that we will hold your private information private, but there are some ways that we'll use your data that we want to be fully transparent about.

Of course, we use student data to make decisions. This information is largely used to determine priorities and guide how we run the WE cARE Pantry and in what ways we need to grow. On an anonymous, bigger scale, we use data to drive the college affordability conversation at Penn State Harrisburg. Our office is uniquely positioned to be able to demonstrate how the rising costs of tuition, textbooks, and the cost of living is pricing people out of a degree. We know that using some of our data (anonymously) can resonate with donors and help create more resources. Using data from the WE cARE Pantry helps all students have better access to an affordable education.

In August 2018, the WE cARE Pantry opened thanks to the work of a dedicated committee of staff, faculty, and students who sought to mitigate the issues of hunger at Penn State Harrisburg by providing a supplemental food source to all students experiencing food insecurity.

Please contact the organizations directly to confirm availability

• Chambers Hill United Methodist Church
  Food Pantry Open Tuesday through Friday 9:30-1:30
  6300 Chambers Hill Rd Harrisburg, PA 17111
   

• St. Catherine Laboure Church, Shrine of the Miraculous Medal
  Food Pantry by appointment
  4000 Derry St. Harrisburg, PA 17111 717-564-1321
   

• Fishing Creek Salem United Methodist Church
  Food Pantry First Thursday of the month 3:30-6:00pm
  402 Valley Rd. Goldsboro, PA 17319 717-938-1928
   

• Choice Community Christian Church
  Food Pantry Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if supplies last) at 4:00pm
  120 South 27th St. Harrisburg, PA 17102 717-592-1031
   

• A Nourished Community
  Community Resources (contact them directly to verify hours of operation) 
   

• Pennsylvania 211
  Food Resources

We are often asked why we prefer to receive monetary donations. It’s simple! Through our partnership with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, we can purchase packaged food items at $0.19/lb or fresh produce at $0.10/lb.  So, you could take $1.00 to the store and purchase a can of soup to donate to our pantry OR you could donate your $1.00 to the pantry; we can turn that same $1.00 into five – ten lbs. of food from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank! Your hard-earned money will go further through donation, and it’s tax deductible as a charitable gift!  GIVE NOW

Suggested Items: Canned food (soup, fruit, vegetables, stew, fish, and beans, etc), pasta (most prefer whole grain), rice (most prefer brown rice), peanut butter.

Drop Zones: 

• Church Hall, 306
• Student Enrichment Center 212 

Penn State partners with a national nonprofit to fight food insecurity and student hunger. Consider donating a meal during the "Swipe Out Hunger" campaign which occurs every Fall and Spring semester.

If your department, student club, etc. is interested in sponsoring a food drive to help support the WE cARE Pantry, please contact us in advance by emailing [email protected] for details. We accept unexpired, non-perishable food items, toiletries, and household necessities. We can send you a template with the logo, and you just input your dates, as well as coordinate receiving donations.

Hosting an event? Encourage all attendees to bring two cans of food for entry or a discount for entry. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to coordinate this!