The Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry Celebrates its 12th Anniversary With a Week of Events!

The Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry is celebrating its 12th birthday with a week of events centered around raising awareness of the food pantry and the services it provides to the campus community. Pantry Awareness Week will span the week of Feb. 27 to March 3.  

The Full Circle Food Pantry is an on-campus resource for all students, faculty and staff to use. Located at 324 Stadium Dr., the pantry is open Mondays 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Wednesdays 3-6 p.m. and Thursdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The only eligibility requirement is affiliation through the university - no income requirements or documents necessary to utilize the pantry. If you have questions regarding food assistance, please email pantry@uark.edu.  

Volunteer opportunities for the Full Circle Food Pantry open at the beginning of each semester. If you or your department are looking for a one-time volunteer event, we may be able to accommodate you. Please reach out to pantry3@uark.edu with any requests. 

Food drives are the primary source of food for the Full Circle Food Pantry. Are you involved with a group that would like to host a food drive? Please email fcdrives@uark.edu to set up a drive. 

The week will start off with a meet and greet of the food pantry board members, all U of A students, in front of Hill Coffee between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Coffee and pastries will be provided! In addition to the meet and greet, there will be information on the food pantry sponsored cooking class, Cooking Matters, as well as a recipe and proportioned ingredients for banana bread available for students.  

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, there will be a special session of Cooking Matters, a free cooking class conducted by food pantry board members. The instructor will be teaching participants how to make budget friendly homemade ramen between 5 and 7 p.m. in ARKU 201. Registration for this event is required through Hogsync. Link to register: Cooking Matters Homemade Ramen - HogSync (uark.edu).

On Wednesday, March 1, in partnership with another student-led initiative, Passionate About Literacy, there will be a grand opening of a free little library outside of the food pantry location that will house donated books for pantry clients and the campus community at large to enjoy. This event, as well as other information about the pantry, will be posted on the Food Pantry Instagram page throughout the day. Follow along with the day's events at @fullcircle_foodpantry on Instagram!  

Thursday, March 2, will showcase one of the Full Circle Food Pantry's most prolific partnerships on campus, the U of A Multicultural Center (MC) located in ARKU 401. Join MC and food pantry staff between 9 a.m. and noon for pastries and coffee, and learn how to sign up for the pantry's online ordering service, PantrySoft. The information you provide is completely confidential, and there are no eligibility requirements.  

Concluding Pantry Awareness Week will be a celebration of the 12th birthday of the Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry. Join food pantry staff in celebrating the progress made so far in making U of A a hunger-free campus with light refreshments. The celebration will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. in ARKU 201 and all U of A community members and partners are encouraged to attend. Link to RSVP: RSVP - Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry 12th Anniversary Event (office.com).

The Full Circle Food Pantry staff and volunteers are so grateful for the continuous and valuable support from partners both on and off campus and hope to see you during Pantry Awareness Week!