Building community and offering food support to university students: the KingsGate Student Pantry. By S. Sumpter1, S. Clay2, P. Harper3, S. Schwikkard1and H. Mulrooney1,4. 1. School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, 2. Voices of Hope, Kingston, 3. KingsGate Church, Kingston, 4. School of Human Sciences, London Metropolitan University.
University students have high risk of food insecurity (FI) (1). Largely comprising young adults, they often have poor diets (2), important given the potential for this life stage to establish lasting healthful eating behaviours (3). Having established that students at a large post-92 university had high concerns about accessing adequate quantity and quality of food (4), the KingsGate Student Pantry was established in November 2023 as a partnership between university staff and student volunteers, a local food charity and a local church. It includes a weekly social space with free refreshments to encourage belonging, signposting to support, cookery demonstrations and access to a range of food, household and personal hygiene items, including bread, fresh fruit and vegetables. For a weekly payment of £5, customers receive £20-35 of items (estimated).
An evaluation of the Pantry to understand its impact on customers and volunteers was carried out, with ethics approval from Kingston University London. Bespoke questionnaires for each group collected qualitative & quantitative data about experiences of FI, reasons for coming (or volunteering) and impact of the Pantry on nutrition and belonging. These were administered at the Pantry using QR codes. Optional telephone interviews were held. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key themes, while quantitative data were used to generate descriptive statistics. The impact of demographics on responses was explored using Kruskal Wallis tests.
This ongoing evaluation currently includes 112 client and 14 volunteer questionnaires, as well as 3 client and 5 volunteer interviews. Preliminary results suggest that finances and social reasons are major drivers for customer attendance. Key food items required at the Pantry are vegetables and fruit, cereals, pasta and rice, and milk and dairy products – basic staple foods now expensive largely due to cost-of-living pressures. High levels of satisfaction among both customers and volunteers are apparent, not limited to the goods on offer, although levels of satisfaction with these are high. Goods are largely surplus, supplemented with additional items specifically purchased using the £5 weekly customer fee. This ensures a high quality offer in addition to contributing to sustainability of the Pantry. Satisfaction also extends to opportunities to build relationships, including between community and university volunteers and customers, groups otherwise unlikely to meet. The social space and the welcome received are highly valued:
‘Doesn’t feel like support, feels like going out shopping with friends’ [client interview]
‘Happy place to be’ [volunteer interview]
The Pantry therefore represents a pathway to developing a shared understanding of the meaning of community between diverse groups, to their shared benefit. Built using existing relationships and partnerships, it exemplifies how universities can utilise the skills and expertise of their community stakeholders to mutual benefit.
1. NUS (2022) Available from: https://www.nus.org.uk/cost-of-living
2. PHE (2021) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-diet-and-physical-activity-a-follow-up-study-during-covid-19
3. Sawyer SM et al (2012) Lancet (Adolescent Health) 379, 1630-1640.
4. Ravel SK, Jayaram R & Mulrooney HM (2023) Compass 16(2), 14-20.

**Building community and offering food support to university students: the KingsGate Student Pantry.** By S. Sumpter1, S. Clay2, P. Harper3, S. Schwikkard1and H. Mulrooney1,4. _1. School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy & Chemistry, Kingston University London, 2. Voices of Hope, Kingston, 3. KingsGate Church, Kingston, 4. School of Human Sciences, London Metropolitan University._
University students have high risk of food insecurity (FI) (1). Largely comprising young adults, they often have poor diets (2), important given the potential for this life stage to establish lasting healthful eating behaviours (3). Having established that students at a large post-92 university had high concerns about accessing adequate quantity and quality of food (4), the KingsGate Student Pantry was established in November 2023 as a partnership between university staff and student volunteers, a local food charity and a local church. It includes a weekly social space with free refreshments to encourage belonging, signposting to support, cookery demonstrations and access to a range of food, household and personal hygiene items, including bread, fresh fruit and vegetables. For a weekly payment of £5, customers receive £20-35 of items (estimated).
An evaluation of the Pantry to understand its impact on customers and volunteers was carried out, with ethics approval from Kingston University London. Bespoke questionnaires for each group collected qualitative & quantitative data about experiences of FI, reasons for coming (or volunteering) and impact of the Pantry on nutrition and belonging. These were administered at the Pantry using QR codes. Optional telephone interviews were held. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key themes, while quantitative data were used to generate descriptive statistics. The impact of demographics on responses was explored using Kruskal Wallis tests.
This ongoing evaluation currently includes 112 client and 14 volunteer questionnaires, as well as 3 client and 5 volunteer interviews. Preliminary results suggest that finances and social reasons are major drivers for customer attendance. Key food items required at the Pantry are vegetables and fruit, cereals, pasta and rice, and milk and dairy products – basic staple foods now expensive largely due to cost-of-living pressures. High levels of satisfaction among both customers and volunteers are apparent, not limited to the goods on offer, although levels of satisfaction with these are high. Goods are largely surplus, supplemented with additional items specifically purchased using the £5 weekly customer fee. This ensures a high quality offer in addition to contributing to sustainability of the Pantry. Satisfaction also extends to opportunities to build relationships, including between community and university volunteers and customers, groups otherwise unlikely to meet. The social space and the welcome received are highly valued:
_‘Doesn’t feel like support, feels like going out shopping with friends’_ [client interview]
_‘Happy place to be’_ [volunteer interview]
The Pantry therefore represents a pathway to developing a shared understanding of the meaning of community between diverse groups, to their shared benefit. Built using existing relationships and partnerships, it exemplifies how universities can utilise the skills and expertise of their community stakeholders to mutual benefit.
1. NUS (2022) Available from: [https://www.nus.org.uk/cost-of-living](https://www.nus.org.uk/cost-of-living)
2. PHE (2021) Available at: [https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-diet-and-physical-activity-a-follow-up-study-during-covid-19](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-diet-and-physical-activity-a-follow-up-study-during-covid-19)
3. Sawyer SM et al (2012) Lancet (Adolescent Health) 379, 1630-1640.
4. Ravel SK, Jayaram R & Mulrooney HM (2023) Compass 16(2), 14-20.

OC197 - Building community and offering food support to university students: the KingsGate Student Pantry.

Unique to the new Congress (previously the Summer Conference) is that you will have greater opportunity to engage with more nutrition science than ever before. In 2024 the core programme will be delivered by the Irish Section of The Nutrition Society, supported by the Science Committee. The theme of these symposia will be ‘new data – focused approaches and challenges’. Outside of the core programme you will have the chance to hear the latest research from the Society’s partner organisations, universities, the private sector and more, on a diverse range of research.