A University Food Bank's Response to COVID 19

In response to COVID 19, Michigan State University decided to go completely to remote learning on Monday, March 16th. University programs and events slowly began to cancel or transitioned online. Students eventually left campus to go be with family. The transition was difficult for many, but I have to applaud the university's efforts in ensuring students who stayed around still had access to resources needed to complete the semester. Being keenly aware that the food bank would be impacted, I wondered if the food bank would continue its services. Shortly thereafter, about a week or so from moving completely online, the food bank sent out an email and a social media announcement. They announced that they had a surplus of fully cooked meals and snacks for any student to come by and pick up. I forgot which day it was, but I believe it was a weekend. At this point, I became curious as to what they meant by "fully cooked meals". Like, who cooked them? Where did they come from? And how long would they last? Nonetheless, at this point, I was already anxious regarding peoples' response to COVID 19 - the pictures of empty shelves at the grocery store and the videos explaining how long COVID 19 lasts on stuff. I was panicking on the inside but seemed calm on the outside. I decided to make the trek to the food bank with the hope that I would not need to go to the grocery store.

When I arrived at the food back, the team members had this elaborate set up for us to pick up our fully cooked meals. There were these large catering trucks filled with cases of food. It was a lot of food! I still did not know where it came from, but I was excited! I was excited at the thought of getting these meals and not having to meal prep for a few days. I was also excited at the thought of eating different meals I usually do not cook. And I was particularly excited because they had LOADS of hardboiled eggs (I love eggs!)

See the truck?! As one would get empty another would come.

I took with me my reusable bags. And as I waited in line I saw Dr. Allyn Shaw, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, and Dr. Denise Maybank, Vice President and Associate Provost for Student Affairs. Both have been instrumental in my understanding of student affairs at MSU and have been supportive of my journey here, so it was great to see some friendly faces during these difficult times. Not only was I able to get some great meals, but I was able to say hi to some folks before I went into total isolation (afterward, I literally only went to the store if I needed something). As I got closer to the meals, I quickly realized what they meant by "fully cooked meals". They had braised beef, pulled pork, flank steak as the entree. Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and cheese and shells as sides. And different types of salads and fresh-cut veggies. In addition, they had two types of fully prepped pasta meals. I mean, it was a whole series of prepped meals!!! (Along with the hardboiled eggs, YUM!)

The hardboiled eggs were in the cartons

Dr. Allyn Shaw and Dr. Denise Maybank

Each food item had an expiration date. Ultimately, they were all set to expire within the week! I appreciated this detail because it got me thinking. How can I make the best of these meals without them going bad and without overeating? (Stress eating during these times is easy to do!) I decided to freeze half of the meals. Freezing them was the best idea because, a while back, I had already meal prepped for the following week! One of my constant challenges with participating in the MSU Food Bank is that I never run out of food and I do not eat it or cook it quick enough, so I always have a surplus of food. I started freezing my meals this spring semester to help maximize my food consumption by allowing me to preserve cooked meals, and add variety to the meals I eat throughout the week. Meaning, I meal prep twice a week and whatever extra servings I might have beyond three servings, I freeze. And then later on when I am short on money or looking for something to eat, I defrost the meals and re-prep them for the week.

In some cases, I used some of the foods to supplement other meals out of my own pantry.

Nonetheless, the food lasted me roughly 4 weeks. My conclusion is that the university cafeterias had food but no students to feed. With students leaving campus, what were they going to do with that all that food? Their idea - Cook it and pass it out to students who intend to stay so that they can have access to food without having to access the school cafeterias. Cooking the food and passing it out as meals in partnership with the university food bank was a great idea in response to COVID 19. I can honestly say with the prepped meals and with what I already had in my pantry, I was set with food all the way to May. By May 4th, my roommate and I decided to head home to Texas to be with our family. (That the next post!)

Enjoying a Brussel sprouts salad dish.