Feeding America and Fox Valley Technical College team up to fight food insecurity with food lockers
Jan 28, 2025
APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) - Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and Fox Valley Technical College showcased their new strategy on Tuesday which fights food insecurity among college students.
Their innovation? Food lockers for students that provide 24/7 meal access through temperature-controlled lockers across the Fox Valley Technical College campus.
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The initiative is courtesy of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin's 'OrderAhead' program. The food can be ordered at any time of day through an online platform, ensuring that they're able to be fed without any stigma that often surrounds food insecurity.
One of the Food Lockers on the campus of Fox Valley Technical College
Dominic Tesch is a second-year at Fox Valley Technical College, and he said he's used the program a few times.
"It really helps, I have two full-time jobs so it's hard to have money to pay for school and groceries," Tesch said. "It's awesome, I can just scan my phone. I don't even have to talk to anybody, I can just grab my stuff."
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin's President Patti Habeck said the program has been in the works for a few years.
"It's our very first food locker that we've been able to place in Wisconsin," Habeck said. "It's something we've been developing for a long time."
Habeck said the goal is to ensure that there are more distribution systems so that they can meet people in need where they're at.
The food is delivered to these lockers on campus, located away from highly condensed areas. The initiative focuses on protecting students' health and well-being while respecting their dignity and privacy during challenging times.
"Even though food insecurity is so prevalent and that it's become more acceptable to talk about and experience, there still is the piece of pride," Habeck said. "Dignity is a really big piece of everything we do, being able to access your locker without a lot of people seeing is that respect for the individual."
Fox Valley Technical College also offers a student food pantry, which sees about 78 students weekly.
Rashaan Dunn, the Manager of Student Development and Engagement at Fox Valley Technical College said that they have limitations on what can be offered through the pantry, however.
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"Through this partnership, we're able to offer produce, dairy and other things that we just can't provide for students [through the pantry]," Dunn said. "Any additional support we can provide at this time is helpful."
The food lockers are currently serving around 50 students, and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin plans to make these available across the 35 counties it serves.
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