Did you know that there is a food pantry designed for usage for all student’s faculty and staff? With the recent prices of groceries and food on campus soaring, it can be difficult for students and faculty to get desired needs for themselves. With a building that is walkable, has vast options and eliminates food waste, this food pantry strives to eliminate food insecurity and stigmas surrounding food across campus.  

The Royal Restore Food Pantry is located inside of the Aruppe House on the hill section on the corner of Mulberry Street and Clay Avenue. The Aruppe House is ran by student volunteers, primarily with the Center of Service and Social Justice (CSSJ), who deal with several programs that specialize in giving back the local Scranton community. Inside of the Arrupe House you will find the food pantry which follows the motto, “take what you need, give what you can.” This motto advocates to every student to come in when you can to donate and grab products.  

Royal Restore is seeking more engagement from students, especially living in the hill section, to gain more traction so no food goes to waste and to gain more funding to draw in more products and plan events for the future.  

The Royal Restore Food Pantry has a lot of variety when it comes to their food products that make it accessible to any diet or restrictions a student may have. The pantry has healthy, organic snacks as well as gluten free foods that appeal to everybody. Junior Christina Kennedy is a work study student for CSSJ and said the pantry strives to have variety and healthier options for students. Royal Restore works in conjunction primarily with Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank to ensure shelves are stocked with new and fresh products that bring variety. The food pantry also has shelves for hygiene and care products like toothbrushes, deodorant and feminine products.  

There has been a sense of discomfort with students using the pantry as students have said that they feel more privileged than others, which deters them from the pantry. Royal Restore harps on being a resource for every student. Whether it is that you cannot buy food or not find a way to get some groceries, the food pantry is there to meet the needs of the students.  

The coordinator of local service, Lorena Pacheco Jiminez is a part of CSSJ and calls and distributes products from stores, restaurants and primarily food banks across the Scranton area. Jiminez recognizes the stigma surrounding food insecurity and wants to ensure the pantry is for everybody on campus.

“I think a lot of students do have a negative connotation that the pantry is only available for people in need or if you are poor. We have been trying to spread awareness about that and allow people to come visit and see that it is only available to student’s faculty and staff. The students on campus that I met with personally, I come to find out that they are on limited meal plans and having the pantry there helps them fill that gap,” Jiminez said.  

Senior Kyle Kennelly Jr. is a work study student of CSSJ and student leader for Royal Restore said that most students don’t know how or what to buy in grocery stores because of students having their own budget and living independently for the first time.

“I feel like a lot of college students are in general poverty. I know a lot of students that come here, and they might be middle class or lower middle class at home but they don’t necessarily have a support system here in college and they feel like they're not supposed to be using these resources even though they might need it or instances where it might be beneficial for them to use it,” Kennelly Jr. said.  

Royal Restore wants to be the avenue students take because of the rising food prices because college students don’t have a large budget to spend in general. With college students not having an effective way to spend their budget on groceries, it can lead to food insecurity as students have to make critical decisions on what products they can and cannot buy.

“Students are just like everybody else. Inflation and the economy bare weight on them just as much as the next person. - Students don’t really have the option to spend money in an effective way at the grocery store and if they do I feel like there’s a lack of an education on how to spend that money,” Kennelly Jr. said.  

Kennelly Jr. acknowledges the problems with Royal Restore and appealing to the student body. Kennelly Jr. said that the biggest problem the Aruppe House has is messaging and advertising the food pantry to students. Kennelly Jr. said CSSJ has goals to get signs to promote the usage of the food pantry and bring awareness to the Aruppe house including the many other programs they provide for the future.  

“You look at the Aruppe House and it says Father Pedro Aruppe House which is great but there is no indicator that there’s a service site, there’s no indicator that there’s a food pantry there. We're trying to get a few different types of signage to try and put on different parts of the house to bring more awareness there,” Kennelly Jr. said.  

With volunteers and staff putting in hours and dedicated work to form a community of giving on campus, they advocate for students spreading awareness by bringing friends to the pantry and donating when you can. So how can students get involved with the Aruppe house if they are not volunteers? Kennelly Jr. said getting involved with Royal Restore is as easy as just showing up.

“Just ring the doorbell or come into our office on second floor DeNaples,” Kennelly Jr. said.  

The more that students see the pantry and the more frequent they show up to the pantry will have a greater impact on student’s wallets and health, as well as form a strong community within the students living on and off campus which is the mission of the Arrupe House.  

Royal Restore Food Pantry is open Monday to Friday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment.  

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Staff Photo by Weston Camillone

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