TAMUG Food Pantry

The TAMUG Food Pantry’s mission is to address food insecurity among our campus community members in need.

About Us    

The TAMUG Food Pantry is open to our campus community of students, faculty, and staff on the Galveston campus. Founded in 2019, the pantry aims to address and reduce food insecurity among our community. We are located within the 1973 Center on the first floor of Hullabaloo Hall, Rm 141.

Hours of operation

Mon - Fri, 9 A-4:45 P & 8 P-10:45 P

Contact

Call us at 409-740-4973, email us at foodpantry@tamug.edu

FAQs    

Visiting The Food Pantry
Visiting The Food Pantry

The pantry is open to all enrolled students, faculty and staff experiencing food insecurity at TAMUG. The pantry provides a resource based on need, please respect this recourse and visit only when you are in need of a resource we provide. 

Anyone utilizing the pantry should consider picking up items for a 2-3 day need, we don’t have limits to visits per week and this rule of thumb allows our staff to restock items. 

We protect your privacy by making our intake for anonymous. We ask that you fill out an eligibility form the first time you visit each semester. Use of the food pantry will not become a part of the student record, nor will information be shared outside of the food pantry program, supported through the 1973 Center and the CARE Team. 

New Program: TAMUG Cleans! This program is new (spring 2024) for our pantry. We know there are large cost barriers in many areas of life, and cleaning can be a burden on financial resources. The pantry made this a priority to help tackle this barrier for our students. Find our list of items that may be checked out here [Link to check out items coming in Feb 2024]!

Supporting the Food Pantry
Supporting the Food Pantry

Individuals supporting the food pantry grants us the ability to successfully maintain our operations of providing food and other necessary items to our campus community. Did you know there are more ways to support than bringing a can item to an event across campus? Check out the variety of ways you can contribute to our mission. 

Monetary Donations
Monetary Donations

All monetary donations given to the Food Pantry help us continue to fund the operations of the pantry, including: purchasing supplies when inventory is low and providing fresh dairy items on a bi weekly basis. Our staff of student employees are also great at watching sales at our local stores, so we stretch our funding to best serve our students!

Giving Through the A&M Foundation

To make a donation through the foundation, click this link and select TAMUG Student Resource Pantry Fund.

Item Donations
Item Donations

We operate on a “take what you need, leave what you can” philosophy, and we welcome donations of many kinds into our pantry by individual drop off or by postal delivery. We have a staff that can take in donations Monday thru Friday from 9 A to 4 PM or by appointment by emailing us at foodpantry@tamug.edu

Mailing Address

Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus
ATTN: The 1973 Center, Food Pantry
1001 Texas Clipper Rd
Galveston, TX. 77553

Most Requested/Utilized Items

Many of our donors are looking to support the food pantry in bulk, so check out some of our most requested and utilized products below to stock up next time you’re at SAM’s, Costco or any other big box retailer. Did you know you can place an order on line and have it shipped to our door?

  • Cereal
  • Pasta (and sauces)
  • Oatmeal
  • Breakfast Bars
  • Shelf Stable Milk
  • Peanut Butter/Jelly
  • Spices (Salt, Pepper, Garlic)
  • Mac N Cheese
  • Canned (Fruit, Veggies, Meats)

One of the easiest options for those who are supporting from a distance is shopping through our Amazon Wish List that usually comes in within a few days. This list is the most up-to-date requests from our customers.

Hygiene Items

Second to food, hygiene items are in demand! We can accept sealed and unopened toiletry/hygienic items along with gently used kitchen supplies.

Getting Involved
Getting Involved

Volunteer

We rely on our volunteers to keep the food pantry functional. The main duties include collecting items during food drives, volunteering in the food pantry in high demand times, couponing and grocery shopping, and helping in community meal days. 

See below for more details on specific ongoing projects:

  • High Demand Volunteer Hours 
  • Dairy Run (Weekly Grocery Pick Up Night Before Dairy Pick Ups) 
  • 1973 Center Community Meals
  • Campus Break food distribution (Spring Break, Fall Break, Winter Break)
  • Bread Makers (Fresh Break Pick up Days)

Organizing Collection Drives

We are so proud of organizations that take time to make selfless service a priority in supporting the center. In the past semester, our TAMUG Aggie Moms, Staff Council, and our own Resident Hall Association have been our largest contributors to the center. 

You can work with us by organizing your own collection drive or supporting your organization's collection during campus wide food drives (Mid Semester in Fall and Spring). 

While planning your own food drive, the 1973 Center staff is happy to help with planning and providing logos, best practices, and collection bins. To begin planning, email us at foodpantry@tamug.edu with “[Organization Name] Collection Drive”

There are many ways to raise awareness for us!

  • Request a presentation
  • Add CARE resources to your classroom syllabus
  • House a collection bin
  • Host a donation drive
  • Request information flyers

Campus Food Pantry Sponsors    

  • Kroger
  • Aggie Moms
  • TAMUG Staff Council
  • Resident Hall Association

Learn About Food Insecurity    

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Low food security is described as reduced quality, variety, and desirability of diet, but quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns are not substantially disrupted. Very low food security is when eating patterns are disrupted and food intake is reduced to lack of money or other resources for food. Essentially, food insecurity can be explained as either reducing the quality or quantity of food due to lack of resources.

Hunger can be considered a potential consequence of food insecurity that, because of prolonged, involuntary lack of food, results in discomfort, illness, weakness, or pain that goes beyond the usual uneasy sensation.

To find out whether you are food insecure, complete the following USDA food security survey.