Care Closet combines food pantry, professional clothing closet
To address the needs of students, the university has combined two separate closets on campus to one central location.
The Care Closet has expanded into a bigger space to now house the professional clothing closet in addition to the food pantry, which has now expanded as well.
The Care Closet is located in the Memorial Student Union Building, Room 220, in a location easily accessible to students.
“We have renamed what used to be the Care Pantry; it is now the Care Closet,” Dean of Students Kirsten Compary said.
The closet offers food, hygiene products, professional clothing and now offers frozen and refrigerated items.
“We’ve expanded from the one room that the pantry was in last semester, that’s now the clothing closet portion and then the room that’s next door, is the food and hygiene portion of the closet,” she said
The previous adjourning room to the Care Closet food pantry was originally just a storage room, however over the summer the two rooms became one allowing for an expanded space.
The idea of a food pantry for students first came to campus about five years ago, and was originally just a filing cabinet it Compary’s office, until funding was secured to expand the pantry.
“[Food insecurity] wasn’t just here on our campus but all over the state, really all over the country,” Compary said.
The university received a small grant and was then able to renovate and get a food supply for the first Care Pantry room outside of Compary’s office.
Fast-forward to today, and the food pantry is still growing. After completing trainings and signing an agreement, the university became official partners with Coastal Bend Food Bank and received its first shipment of food on Monday, Aug. 29. A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9, to celebrate the new partnership.
Students must fill out an application to receive food from the pantry.The application takes less than 10 minutes and is based on monthly income with student workers being able to review and qualify applications on the spot. Students are able to qualify for up to 12 months making the application an annual one. If a student’s situation does change, emergency relief can be provided for the student through the Care Closet.
Students do not have to qualify for the professional clothing closet. The closet is open to all students regardless of financial standing.
“[The closet] was not really in a central student location which is why it’s now a part of the Care Closet,” Director of Career Engagement and Corporate Relations Ralph Leal said.
The previous clothing closet was located in Eckhardt Hall. Instead of directing students to two separate buildings, the university is able to host both closets in the same location.
“We’re very fortunate that the university invested resources into redoing that whole space… to make sure that the Care Closet really serves the best needs for our students,” Leal said.
Not all students may remember or get the opportunity to bring professional clothing when they move onto campus, Leal said.
“Students can use [these clothes] for either a conference that they’re going to, an interview that they’ve got or even a career fair like we’re having on October the sixth.”
The closet is unable to provide shoes or belts, but students are able to keep each piece of clothing they pick up from the closet.
“We don’t want the clothes back; we want [students] to keep it, but then if they could tell us what they did with it, if they took it on an interview and they got the job, we’d love to know about that kind of stuff so we can then turn around and tell other students about it,” Leal said.
Students are excited about the changes.
“As a student, I feel like the Care Closet is a wonderful idea and would be great for students to grab and go when they need clothing, food and other essentials. However, I also feel like the school should advertise it more in order for it to reach its full potential,” Senior Business major Ari Mireles said.
The Cares Closet is Open on Mondays from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 8 to 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 3:30 p.m.; Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 8 to 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
