Sarah WangStaff Writer
After being remodeled over the winter break, The Store, Baylor’s on-campus food pantry, debuted Friday in the basement of the East Wing of the Sid Richardson Building.
The grand reopening event began with a speech by Lauren da Silva, Program Director of The Store, thanking those who have supported The Store and reiterating its goal of addressing food insecurity on Baylor’s campus.
The Store is a basic needs program that works with the campus and community to help food shortages for students.
According to da Silva, the need to revamp the space means that the exterior of the old store does not do well enough to reflect the standards of excellence of the facility that people see on campus, and they do not fit in with the rest of the campus. It stems from the recognition of the team of
“We want the students who use our store to feel like they belong, so we felt it was very important to create a space that felt like they belonged on another campus at Baylor,” says Da. Silva said. “I think it was one of the ways we were able to see them and acknowledge their difficulties and show them that we care deeply for them.”
According to Madeline Whitmore, Alumni Assistant at The Store, the remodel includes a new refrigerator, freezer, repainted walls and new flooring. She said the new refrigerator would give her more capacity and space for more produce and items that can’t be put on the shelves, such as fruits, vegetables, meat and milk.
“We really hope that we can expand and increase our capacity [to] Hopefully, more needs will be met,” Whitmore said.
Heading into the spring semester, da Silva said the aim is to provide students with a more consistent supply of fresh products and food from a variety of different cultures.
“A lot of international students use The Store,” says da Silva. “We want to make sure we provide friendly options so they can make their own meals that feel comfortable and feel like home.”
Da Silva also said she was concerned that students dealing with food insecurity in Baylor were too embarrassed to come forward or were unaware the store existed.
“There is food insecurity here,” said Da Silva. “We are not immune to it. It is not shameful and we are here to help.”
