For the Loyola community, one opportunity to donate to help fight food insecurity is with Iggy’s Cupboard, which launched back in November of 2018, that was created by the Loyola Student Life and Ministry along with the Student Government Association.

Heather Malveaux, university minister, would like to remind students that “as the new semester approaches, donations are highly favorable as the Cupboard is low on current supplies and needs re-stocking.”

Heather said the cupboard has been highly successful since being formed thanks in large part to the support of the Loyola student body and community.

“For those wishing to donate, but are not local, you can go online and make a donation. The Iggy’s staff will purchase the needed items on your behalf,” Malveaux said.

According to their website, Iggy’s Cupboard is a non-profit source of need for members of the Loyola community that are having economic problems and need assistance. Students looking to help out via online options can browse the cupboard’s wish list on Amazon to see items of greatest need.

The cupboard is located at the Danna Student Center’s lower level just behind the SGA Hub. The cupboard provides a list of non-perishable foods, hygiene items and other miscellaneous goods such as cooking utensils and can openers.

The cupboard is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The cupboard’s hours may be subject to change during university-scheduled holidays. To access the cupboard, students can bring goods to the office assistant or the evening building manager for help at the front desk of the Student Life and Ministry office.

To keep the confidentiality of donors and recipients, the cupboard has trained workers and volunteer efforts on the correct policies of non-disclosure agreements. During the training process, each helper must sign a waiver stating he or she will keep the identity of the cupboard’s guests confidential.

When recipients enter the cupboard, they select their own items in need. The guest receives a reusable shopping bag to fill at their convenience. The cupboard staff requests that guests place food items and non-food essentials in separate bags. When finished, guests simply weigh their bags separately to log in the received-donations log book. This process allows the staff to maintain a fully-stocked cupboard.

SGA Vice President Elect Freedom Richardson says SGA will continue to find funds within the budget to keep the Iggy’s Cupboard running on campus.

“The cupboard remains a top priority for us on campus as more than 40 percent of the community deals with these problems and we are a welcoming solution,” Richardson said.

Richardson said SGA’s biggest challenge is dealing with a strained budget and that they appreciate all forms of donations to the cupboard from the public.