Full Circle Campus Food Pantry Celebrates Two Years of Service

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The Full Circle Campus Food Pantry of the Volunteer Action Center celebrated two years of operation this week. Full Circle, an emergency food assistance program that distributes food and personal products to all members of the University of Arkansas community, has grown tremendously since opening its doors on Feb. 7, 2011.

In its first year of operation Full Circle brought in over 16,000 pounds of donations; whereas, this past fall semester the pantry has more than doubled that amount with 37,000 pounds of donations brought in from August to December alone.

Full Circle has shared its best practices with over 50 other colleges and universities to help them explore opening their own food pantries, including Arkansas State University, Pulaski Technical College, and the University of Missouri which opened its Tiger Pantry this past fall. Full Circle served 3,477 individuals in the fall 2012 semester, averaging 217 guests served weekly.

Past accomplishments of the student-led operation include being featured in USA Today and placing second in President Obama’s Campus Champions for Change Challenge in March of 2012, which earned the student committee a trip to the White House.

Full Circle’s motto is “Nourishing bodies, empowering minds, building a community of compassion.” Pantry volunteers strive to offer an accessible, compassionate and dignified environment to supplement the nutritional needs of the University of Arkansas community.

Hours of operation are Mondays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those needing assistance can place an order in person during open hours through online submission.