Oct. 31 will be the opening of an EIU campus food pantry to anyone with a panther card, something in which we at the Daily Eastern News are in great support of. 

According to Dr. Michael Gillespie, Director of the Faculty Development and Innovation Center and a sociology professor at EIU, as of 2018 at least 40 percent of Eastern’s campus suffers from food insecurity; not knowing where their next meal will come from or an inaccessibility to nutritious food. 

To those at Eastern needing assistance: Don’t feel ashamed of needing to get this kind of help. Everyone deserves to have a meal and to eat no matter where they get it from. 

At this food pantry they will not require people to provide income or financial data, which helps with potential shame that people may feel going to food pantries that sometimes ask for personal data. 

We also commend the accessibility for students to be able to walk from their dorms as the food pantry is located in McAfee. 

There was a need seen on campus and multiple people banded together to help establish a solution for it, but it is and will be a continued effort. 

If you are not in need of assistance from the food pantry and are able to donate, whether it is through non-perishable food items or monetary donations, your help is appreciated by your community at Eastern. You may also volunteer your time at the EIU Campus Food Pantry.