Augusta University’s Open Paws Pantry provides food for students
By Ana Winters | Staff writer
On any given weekday students can find a quiet corner of support that extends far beyond academics.
Inside the Quad Studio sits shelves lined with canned goods, fresh snacks and even a refrigerator stocked with cold drinks and grab-and-go items. There are also hygiene items, including deodorants, shaving cream and mouth wash.
This is the Open Paws Pantry, which is a student resource with the mission of making sure no student has to learn on an empty stomach.
The Open Paws Pantry actually has two locations, one being the Quad Studio (behind Rains and Payne halls) on the Summerville campus and the other being at the Student Center on the Health Sciences campus.
Both locations are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and they welcome all Augusta University students. The idea is simple but powerful. The goal is to provide easy access to food for anyone who needs it, no questions asked.
“Together, we will fight to end hunger and malnutrition of college students across our campus,” the pantry’s mission statement reads.
This goal is rooted in compassion and to recognize that success in the classroom often depends on stability outside of it. College is often pictured as mostly independent, but sometimes students quietly struggle with food insecurity.
Rising costs of tuition, textbooks, housing and everyday living expenses, due to inflation, can make it difficult for students to consistently afford balanced meals. AU’s Open Paws Pantry steps into that role, serving as both a safety net and a reminder that no one has to face these challenges alone.
At the Summerville location, the refrigerator is a popular feature because it offers cold drinks and quick snacks that students can grab between classes. The Health Sciences campus pantry, in the Student Center, also provides the same for the students that have schedules keeping them closer to downtown Augusta.
The pantry is a direct reflection of a bigger movement happening across universities nationwide. Schools recognize the real issue of student hunger. At Augusta University this fight is fueled by both staff and students who are passionate about creating change.
One of these leaders is DMya Sanders, who helps oversee the pantry and ensures its mission stays active and visible.
“It’s here for you,” she said. “We want students to know this is their resource.”
Anyone can make a donation to the pantry, as well. (See link below.)
This pantry is important, the presence of the Open Paws Pantry acknowledges a tough truth. Hunger can happen anywhere, even on a college campus.
Contact Ana Winters at anwinters@augusta.edu.
Students are allowed to pick up a certain number of items and hygiene products are available as needed on a visit to one of the two Open Paws Pantry locations at AU. (photos by Ana Winters/the Bell Ringer)
One of the Open Paws Pantry is located in the yellow Quad Studio building behind Rains and Payne halls on the Summerville Campus. (staff photo)
