“The Bread n’ Butter Pantry will not be returning to campus as a student organization,” a Bread n’ Butter Facebook post said on Sept. 5.
Student-run food pantry Bread n’ Butter served hundreds of students each week and saved hundreds of pounds of food after it launched last fall. Founded by Gloria Coicou grad, the pantry provided fresh free food to any and all students, operating through partnerships with Cornell Dining, Friendship Donations Network, and local businesses like Wegmans and Tops, The Sun previously reported.
The pantry originally opened with plans to remain operating indefinitely. “We kind of acted as a catalyst for Cornell to see there was a need for a pantry on campus,” Laura Yang ’19 grad, former pantry director, told The Sun in a message. It so happened that Anabel’s Grocery would be on hiatus, providing Bread n’ Butter a convenient temporary location to operate out of.
The pantry will no longer operate starting this semester, according to Yang, with a university-run pantry scheduled to open later this semester.
“We worked together with administrators to plan for the opening of the Cornell instituted pantry,” Yang said. “Bread n’ Butter acted as a model.”
According to Yang, details of the new pantry such as hours and location are yet to be determined. The new pantry is organized by Student and Campus Life and spearheaded by the office’s Assistant Vice President Pat Wynn, who previously worked closely with Bread n’ Butter on University collaborations.
“We want to thank everybody for their support of the pantry and for bringing issues of food insecurity to the forefront of some of our campus discussions,” the Bread n’ Butter Facebook post said.
At the end of last semester, Bread n’ Butter urged students to clear the shelves of its temporary location in Anabel’s Grocery in a Facebook post. Like Bread n’ Butter, Anabel’s Grocery is entirely student-run, offering fresh and affordable food for the Cornell community. The grocery, which was inactive last semester in order to revamp its business model, will re-open in its location in Anabel Taylor Hall Wednesday, Sept. 18, in Room 130.
And last spring, the University introduced its pilot program Swipe Out Hunger, The Sun previously reported. The program offered students with extra swipes the opportunity to donate their meals to students in need.