Kate Ayotte, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, said the campus food pantry, Maria’s Place, is seeing less donations while grocery prices rise in the United States.  

The pantry relies on food donations from others and from Food Share, a national organization that serves to help families in need. 

“I do feel like with the rise in cost of groceries we are seeing less donations,” Ayotte said. “But we do have a partnership with Food Share which has really helped us keep our shelves stocked.” 

While Maria’s Place has seen a decrease in the number of food donations, Ayotte said the number of students in need has risen.  

“Data is showing that more and more college students are becoming food insecure,” she said. “In an effort to help our students here at Central, Maria’s Place is not only able to help them, not only with food insecurity, but also help them stay in school.” 

From 176 students in 2018-19 to 1653 in 2024-25, the number of students going to the pantry has skyrocketed. 

The U.S. Inflation Calculator reported that grocery prices went up 3% since March 2024 while showing that 2022 has the highest inflation at 10.5%. 

“Since COVID, a lot more students are using the food pantry and visiting more often,” said Ayotte. 

She said that she hopes that more students become involved in food drives and that they feel safer to visit. 

“The location is a little secluded on purpose so that it’s a little bit more conspicuous if students are visiting the food pantry,” Ayotte said.  

From athletes to older students, Maria’s Place is open to everyone in need of groceries up to two times a week. 

The pantry is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and is located under the R.C. Vance Academic Center.