Rhody Outpost, the University of Rhode Island’s food and basic needs pantry, expanded its resources to nursing students at the university’s Providence Campus.
When broadening its reach at URI, Rhody Outpost wanted to focus on nursing students first, according to Barbara Sweeeny, the pantry’s head. The Rhode Island Nursing Education Center is located at the university’s Providence Campus, where food and necessities are expensive. Having a site in Providence gives graduate students at RINEC access to affordable and needed resources.
“We’re training these [nursing] students to be caretakers and they should be cared for as well,” Sweeney said.
The Outpost expansion included help from URI nursing professors Joan Dugas and Diane DiTomasso, according to Sweeney. Sweeney said that Dugas has been a big supporter of the Rhody Outpost, even before the Providence site’s formation.
Sweeney provided resources and taught the nursing professors how to work a food pantry, while DiTomasso coordinated with RINEC and made flyers promoting the Outpost.
DiTomasso said she asked the RINEC administrators who approved the proposal and gave them RINEC’s student lounge for the Outpost location. DiTomasso hoped to use the lounge’s cupboards, sink and refrigerator.
“I thought it was a terrific idea,” DiTomasso said. “I think any way that we can support our students to help them be successful is a win.”
Sweeney supplies the Outpost’s Providence site with resources from the Kingston Campus and through donations, DiTomasso said. To access the Outpost, students leave their student ID with a volunteer and grab what they need for the week. As of Thursday, Oct. 10, the Providence Outpost has been open for almost two weeks and about eight students have accessed it.
The expansion does not affect the Outpost on the Kingston Campus, Sweeney said. The materials she gave to the Providence Campus were excess products from the Kingston Campus, such as bars of soap and menstrual products. Sweeney divides the non-perishable items to give to RINEC.
Future plans for the Outpost involve broadening its scope across the university’s Kingston Campus, Sweeney said. She wants to develop mini pantries in multiple spots around campus. The smaller pantries would be filled with non-perishable food and personal care items.
The Outpost helped promote the Women’s Center’s pantry, which opened up on Tuesday, according to Sweeney. As opposed to the Outpost, the Women Center’s pantry is always open.
Sweeney also wants to work with the Gender and Sexuality Center, the Multicultural Student Services Center and the Graduate School of Oceanography, she said. Another goal is to have miniature pantries throughout each college at URI because not all majors have their own building. This structure would allow students to take what they need, similar to little free libraries.
The small pantries would also be a way for students to support other students, Sweeney said. Instead of throwing away non-perishable items, they could be donated to the mini pantries as a way of community building.
“If this is something that we can do to increase [students’] chances of success, then I’m all for it,” DiTomasso said.
Students in need can fill out the intake form on the Outpost’s website and visit the Dining Services warehouse at the Kingston Campus. It is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.