Rachael Mills oversees the campus food pantry at Metropolitan State University. When she first started, she was new to food shelf work. She placed orders when things appeared to run low and took in donations of canned items as they came.
Today, with the help of Strategic Food Sourcing Reports and Consultations from FFEN, Mills is planful about what comes into the pantry.
“I learned a more strategic way of spending my dollars,” Mills said.
Mills’s site is one of 13 campus pantries that participated in the last round of Strategic Food Sourcing Reports from FFEN. And, for the first time, FFEN was able to provide insights, based on data from the group of campus pantries, that help pantry leaders gauge how they’re doing compared to their peers/colleagues on other campuses.
“My population is not necessarily the same as a traditional community food shelf because we’re working with college students – we serve half University students and half community members and we’re trying to meet the needs of both.”
For Mills, having data specific to campus pantries, combined with data from her own pantry, helps provide guidance on how to prioritize her ordering to best meet the needs of the people she serves.
“I am focusing on more bang for your buck and foods that have a more nutritious value.”
Rachael Mills, Metropolitan State University
Katie Bull, FFEN Program Director, said campus pantries often serve dual roles of feeding students a quick snack or meal during the day and providing students and families in the surrounding community with grocery support.
Typically, Bull said, they run on small staffs and are creative with accessibility – some offer extended or flexible hours while others are unstaffed models with key card access, making food available when students need it.
Because campus pantries are unique entities, Bull said, it’s even more important to provide them access to food sourcing data and statistics from similar programs.
“They are really focused on what their campus community needs,” she said.
Typically, campus pantries like Mills’ work to offer snacks as well as ready-to-eat and easy to prepare meals. The amount of food a student takes away per visit is usually much smaller than that of a community food shelf because the sites are focused on being readily available to students who may need to visit frequently.
Mills said the report and consultation with FFEN were key to creating a regular ordering cadence and plan. The data showed her she could spend less money on spices, sauces and household items and instead focus dollars on non-meat proteins, produce and shelf-stable dairy items.
“I am focusing on more bang for your buck and foods that have a more nutritious value,” she said.
The report has helped her explain to donors why she prioritizes certain foods. Additionally, it highlights areas where she can coordinate targeted donation drives from the community for things like hygiene items.
“It has brought consistency,” she said. “That has helped our shoppers too, they know what they’re going to get and what they’re not going to get.”
Mills receives FFEN reports every six months and can look at her progress and purchases over time.
“Being able to track it and have that regular feedback is really helpful,” she said. “Having those mentors at FFEN and resources … to have a conversation and actually pick apart the data is so helpful.”
Overall, the 13 campus pantries participating in the spring 2025 round of reports (data from July-Dec 2024) show some of the unique characteristics of this group of programs:
- 92% welcome people to shop the shelves much like a grocery store, compared to 76% of food shelves across the state who participated in the last round of FFEN consultations
- 77% offer access weekly or more frequently, compared to 32% from across the state who participated in the last round of FFEN consultations
- 50% of the foods campus pantries source are fresh produce, protein and dairy, foods most important to shoppers, lower that the community food shelf median because campus pantries often stock more ready-to-eat food
This project is made possible with funding from the Hennepin County Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP), Minnesota Department of Health.
