Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry

Hatter Food Pantry

The Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry keeps non-perishable food items stocked through the generosity and donations of Stetson's Faculty, Staff and students. In addition to food, the pantry also provides toiletries. We try to meet dietary needs (vegan, gluten-free, etc.) and suggest that if there is an unmet food need, please let us know.

The Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry is a confidential and free emergency service. It is located in the Student Counseling Services office at Griffith Hall and can be accessed at any time during office hours:
Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(closed daily from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch)
Saturday and Sunday: Closed

To utilize the Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry, simply ask your current counselor or the front desk staff in the Student Counseling Services office and they will guide you through the process.

For emergency meal cards, which are good for your entrance into the Lynn Commons, or worth $8 in any other dining location on campus, please contact Student Counseling Services at (386) 822-8900 or [email protected]

To donate to Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry, contact Nicole at [email protected] or call (386) 822-8900 during office hours to coordinate donation drop-off.

Donate

Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry was created in 2013 by Nicole Currie, Administrative Specialist III of Student Counseling Services. While waiting for appointments, students disclosed that they had not eaten for several days or were struggling due to changes in employment or their financial situation. Seeing a need, Nicole decided to help and started the food pantry so that students would not have to worry about going hungry. The original pantry was located in the Counseling Center Annex, between 2 counseling offices.

In 2015, Rajni Shankar-Brown, PhD, Associate Professor and Jessie Ball duPont Chair of Social Justice Education, became an active participant in assisting the efforts of the Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry. Dr. Shankar-Brown is a member of the National Coalition for the Homeless, the Founder and Executive Director of the Poverty and Homelessness Conference at Stetson and serves as an advisor to the Student Coalition to End Homelessness at Stetson.

Over the years, various offices, departments and divisions on campus have donated boxes and bins of food and toiletries to the pantry. For several years, the Stetson Quality of Service committee would supply the pantry with donations received from the Faculty and Staff Holiday Luncheon.

In 2017, the Bonner program donated a large number of canned goods, before the move of Student Counseling Services and the Hatter Pantry to its current location in Griffith Hall.

In 2018, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) collected canned food on Halloween for the pantry. The Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry also partnered with Stetson's Dining Services, allowing students to donate HatterBucks that were matched and turned into single-use meal cards for students using the pantry. That year, the Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry began partnering with Stetson University's Office of Residential Living and Learning and Recycling Program to have donation bins in the residence halls at the end of the semester when students are returning home for the winter and summer breaks.

For more information about the Ending Poverty and Homelessness Conference, contact Rajni Shankar-Brown [email protected]

For more information about partnering with the Hatters Helping Hatters Food Pantry, contact Nicole at [email protected]