After reopening at the end of last month for its fall term, the campus food pantry has high hopes for yet another successful term in 2018. 

Fabiola Aranda, the food pantry’s coordinator, said that throughout this year, the food pantry has collected 1,748 lbs of food, $4,023 in monetary donations, and 4,000 dining dollars, not including the recent donation from the Fairhaven Senior Center of $1,240 and 140 lbs of food. 

With that much business, Aranda found it necessary to expand past volunteers and hire a new position. That’s when Christopher Johnson, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater senior, was hired.   

“Basically I take care of the day to day stuff like greeting the guests, helping them however I can while they look, and checking them out afterwards,” Johnson said. “But I plan to do a little bit of client outreach, fundraising, and maybe even create a volunteer newsletter during my time here as well.”   

Johnson went on to say that while the food pantry does not have as large of a demand for volunteers this term because of his new overarching position, volunteers are of course still appreciated, especially on their unloading days. 

“Basically, if you’re respectful and can respect the confidentiality of your client’s, you’d be a good fit here.”

The food pantry is located in White Hall and is open to all students Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.