By Giada Schwam
Correspondent
The Shop, an on-campus resource which provides aid to those experiencing food insecurity, is currently in the process of expanding its resources through fundraising and the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program. This grant program helps colleges get the necessary funding for students to have access to food and hygiene products so they can focus more on their studies.
Visitors can attend The Shop once a week and fill a basket with any items they would like from all the frozen produce, canned goods and hygiene products that The Shop offers.
“I think it’s amazing that The Shop is able to expand its resources and reach more college students with food insecurity,” said Anusree Deevi, a freshman counseling and clinical psychology major. “The Shop’s expansion is such a game changer in the fight against hunger in a college setting.”
Through the Secretary for Higher Education’s office, Nicole Harris, manager of The Shop, and Elizabeth Gallus, associate dean of students, wrote a grant proposal for the next cycle of the Hunger-Free Campus program for a $75,000 grant.
The grant proposal included paying for student salaries, food replenishment, hygiene products and refurbishing mini pantries around campus. Currently, the College has mini pantries located in the Dean of Students office and Student Health Services, with plans to open more in the Recreation Center and Forcina Hall.
“I think it’s great that TCNJ has The Shop and even better that it’s getting expansions,” said Katherine Morales, a sophomore psychology major. “Students can focus more on their schoolwork and not have to worry about if they have enough food for them to eat.”
Through its partnership with Mercer Street Friends, a food bank that supplies food pantries in Mercer County, The Shop now carries fresh eggs and produce.
“When we were done with the spring semester, we weren’t offering those things yet,” said Harris.
The products that Mercer Street Friends carries were a crucial part of the grant proposal, according to Harris.
With the grant money, The Shop plans to purchase more canned goods such as various beans, vegetables, tuna and chicken. It also plans to buy more hygiene products like toilet paper, dish detergent, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
“We recently finished out a grant, and with the grant, we were able to purchase a commercial refrigerator,” said Harris.
Now The Shop can hold more refrigerated and packaged products. The Shop purchased more frozen goods, including ground beef, pork, shrimp and turkey bacon from Mercer Street Friends.
The Shop implements expansions using fundraisers and donations from various outlets. Monetary and food donations, as well as donations from The Shop’s Amazon wishlist and other fundraising significantly help The Shop to purchase more products and expand its inventory.
Soon to be started, The Shop also plans to get frozen meals once a week from the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, an organization that provides healthy meals and services to those in need around Trenton.
Over the last two years, The Shop’s inventory and traffic has increased. The Shop received 181 visits by 101 visitors in 2023. A household that consists of one or multiple people is considered a visitor. The Shop’s visits increased to 989 visits by 342 visitors in 2024. Just this past summer, The Shop had 264 visits by 107 visitors from June 1 to Sept. 12.
When people advocate for The Shop’s services, it significantly increases visits, according to Harris.
Harris wants to make more students at the College aware of the option that Sodexo, the College’s food service provider, gives students regarding extra Flex Points. Students who have unused points have the option to purchase items and donate them to The Shop. Last year, over 200 students opted to donate using their unused points, which totaled to around $18,000 in food that would be donated to The Shop.
The Shop’s hours of operation can be found on its Instagram @theshop__tcnj.
