JAMAICA — When Crystal DiBenedetto was a junior at St. John’s University last year, she looked around the student dining hall one night and noticed a fellow student holding a piece of bread and spreading a tiny portion of peanut butter on it.
The two got to talking, and DiBenedetto learned from the student that they didn’t have enough money to buy a full meal. She realized in that moment that something should be done to help students facing food insecurity.
“I thought, ‘Oh wow. I’m not the only student here who’s facing this or did face this,” she recalled, explaining that she has struggled to make ends meet in the past. “There’s something that needs to be done.”
DiBenedetto, now a senior, is a student advocate who worked with the university’s Food Insecurity Task Force to create Vincent’s Table, a food pantry and assistance program that offers free canned and packaged foods, cooking utensils, and toiletries to students experiencing food insecurity and financial worries.
Named in honor of St. Vincent de Paul, the pantry officially launched in December and is open to all students, whether their food insecurity issues are temporary or long-term, said Mary-Elizabeth Sabo, director of residential education and basic needs at the university. The program subsists on monetary and food donations.
In March, the program assisted 114 students. So far, this spring semester, 350 pounds of food have been donated.
The estimated percentage of college students (3.8 million) in the United States who experienced food insecurity in 2020 is 23%.
— U.S. Government Accountability Office
The program is designed to provide students with flexibility and empowerment, Sabo said.
Prior to opening Vincent’s Table, organizers volunteered at St. John’s Bread and Life, a food pantry and social services assistance center in Bedford-Stuyvesant, to get a feel for how their program could operate.
“We really learned, through our partnership with Bread and Life, how dignity has to be at the forefront of what we’re doing,” Sabo explained.
Here’s how the program works: Students register and can place orders using a code system. “I think what sets us apart slightly, maybe from other food banks or food pantries, is our ability to customize,” Sabo said.
The orders are then filled by volunteers like Sabo, who either leave them in the food pantry in Donovan Hall, a student residence, or in one of the food lockers on campus next to Amazon lockers.
That is deliberate, Sabo said. That way, no one knows if a student is there to pick up a food order or something they ordered from Amazon.
Theisman Erasme, a sophomore, said Vincent’s Table is a significant help.
“Vincent’s Table is very convenient because I can’t really spend time going to the store most of the time,” he said, adding that his courses keep him busy most days. “I like to stock up on the canned stuff because I stay home a lot … and I like to get the rice and the beans because they’re also easy to cook.”
According to Sabo, there are already plans to expand Vincent’s Table’s services.
“The beauty of the … whole community getting behind Vincent’s Table and supporting our students, is that we’re looking to partner with our law students, where the law students can help our students as they’re navigating applying for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), or filling out their taxes,” she explained.
DiBenedetto expects word of mouth to spread across the St. John’s campus, with more students signing up for Vincent’s Table over time: “I definitely see in the future how much this is going to grow.”
HOW TO HELP
To donate to the Vincent’s Table program, visit: support.stjohns.edu/campaigns/73682