By Scott Nester ’28
For many students, succeeding in college is more than just studying for exams and showing up to class. When access to necessities becomes uncertain, the focus shifts from success to survival.
Since opening in 2017, the Husker Pantry has combated the stigma around asking for help while providing free food, hygiene products and other essentials to students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
For Kenji Madison, Ph.D., director, student culture & community and the Husker Pantry, the mission extends beyond solely filling shelves.
“We’re guided by Student Life’s principles to be present and to care deeply for our students,” Madison said. “The pantry provides a multitude of food options, essential items and educational resources. These items are provided at no cost in a space that is attentive, welcoming and responsive to students’ needs.”
Madison said he sees the relief among students who access the Husker Pantry. It’s a feeling that reminds him why he fights for the pantry in the first place.
To make these resources available to all students, the Husker Pantry relies on donor support to the UNL Food Pantry Fund to keep its shelves stocked.
“It is because of donors that we even exist at the level that we exist at,” Madison said. “I cannot overstate how critical the provisions that they provide for the pantry are to our subsistence semester after semester, year after year.”
For Madison, donor support represents much more than operational funding. It also highlights that students are cared for beyond their academic standing.
“Our students have so much to deal with,” he said. “The necessities oftentimes seem to take a back burner to their experience.”
Madison has one message for anyone who has donated to the Husker Pantry.
Every donation creates lasting moments like these and impacts the lives of countless college students.
Whether providing a meal or reminding students that they do not have to face hardships alone, the Husker Pantry will continue serving students with compassion. Thanks to the generosity of donors, future Huskers will have fewer obstacles standing in the way of their future.
“The forefront of my experience here on campus is knowing that I’ve just had a small part in making students’ days just a little bit more manageable,” Madison said.
Husker Pantry Fund
The greatest needs of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Gifts through the N Fund let you make a bigger difference on campus, your college and students.
"Sitting across from a student, looking them in the eyes while they're having a really difficult time and being able to provide them with necessities such as food and basic needs like that … there's not enough money, there's not enough pats on the back for those types of interactions.”
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