With SNAP benefits still up in the air, many people are looking for ways to get food for free to fill the gap.

That includes college students. A 2020 federal survey found that about a quarter of U.S. college students are food insecure, meaning they either have no access or limited access to healthy food.

Local universities are aiming to address that gap with campus food pantries.
Here’s where Indy students can find food at their schools:

IU Indianapolis

IU Indy students can get free food at the university food pantry, called Paws’ Pantry.

To make an appointment, log into this online portal and sign in with your IU login information.

Students and staff can visit the pantry once a week. Appointment slots are available one week in advance and will close 24 hours before the pantry opens — for example, availability for a Wednesday appointment will close Tuesday at 11 a.m. The pantry is open Tuesday-Thursday.

When you get to the pantry, you’ll be able to shop for 15 minutes. Bring your IU Crimson Card with you to the appointment.

If you need food immediately and can’t make an appointment, email jagsfood@iu.edu. The pantry will provide an emergency one-time bag of food.

If you go: PAWS Pantry, located in Room 130 of the Campus Center, 420 University Blvd. The pantry is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and noon to 6 p.m. Thursday.

Ivy Tech

Ivy Tech students and employees can get food at both the main Indianapolis campus near downtown and the location in Lawrence.

Students and staff can shop once every two weeks at either pantry. But because demand has increased a lot this semester, options for available food might vary day to day. You do not need to make an appointment.

If you go: Students can shop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday at the Bear Necessities food pantry, located in Room 414 of the North Meridian Center, 50 W. Fall Creek Parkway North Drive. The Lawrence food pantry is located in room 376 and open twice a month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For the rest of the year, the pantry is open Nov. 13, Dec. 4 and Dec. 9.

For more information, email indianapolis-ivycares@ivytech.edu.

Butler University

Butler’s food pantry is located in Atherton Union Room 301 and is open for all Butler students.

The pantry provides shelf-stable foods and a limited number of meal swipes for the dining program.

If you go: The pantry is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

Marian University

Marian’s food pantry, called Knightro’s Pantry, is located in Clare Hall and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There’s no limit to the number of items a student can choose, according to the website.

If you go: Shop from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m in Clare Hall. For more information, email jmayo1@marian.edu.

UIndy

UIndy’s food pantry is open to students, staff and faculty at the University of Indianapolis.

Students should make an appointment online to shop at the food pantry, located inside the campus chapel, at their assigned time.

The pantry offers non-perishable food on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you go: Make an appointment online using this Google form. The pantry is located inside University Height United Methodist Church, 4002 Otterbein Ave., Door 1.

This story may be updated with additional information and resources.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429. 

Related

INDIANAPOLIS — Talks of landing a potential casino license for downtown Indianapolis are in very early stages, after a state-commissioned study found Indy to be the most lucrative location.

It’s still much too early to tell if a casino is in the cards for downtown Indy, but sources tell the Indianapolis Business Journal that this is an effort supported by the Hogsett administration, as well as senators from both sides of the aisle: Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis) and Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis).

On the other hand, at least one key legislative leader, House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers), has voiced his opposition to putting another casino in central Indiana. All of this, after a state-commissioned study found downtown Indy was the best choice for a casino license from a revenue standpoint, followed by the Fort Wayne area. 

If the existing Rising Star Casino were to relocate to the state capital, the IBJ reports an estimated $170 million in gambling tax revenue each year and more than $490 million in estimated gross annual revenue. 

“From those I’ve talked to, this is about as far as they’ve ever gotten in serious conversations about having a downtown casino. There have been talks about maybe one at the airport in the past or at the fairgrounds back in the 90s, but as far as downtown goes, this is the farthest things have gone,” said Mickey Shuey, IBJ’s commercial real estate, tourism and sports business reporter.

According to the IBJ, the Capital Improvement Board is intrigued by the idea, as negotiations for a new lease agreement for the Indianapolis Colts are right around the corner. 

“Improving Lucas Oil Stadium and essentially what that might look like long term, they’ll need to find a way to pay for that. They’ll need to find ways to pay for a soccer stadium if they opt to move ahead with that,” Shuey said.

“There’s plenty of other projects downtown that the city would like to get funding for.”

The IBJ reported that multiple potential sites have been brought into the conversation, with two locations near the Indiana Convention Center at the forefront. Shuey said it’s looking to be a tough sell, as Rising Star has basically laid out its plan for a $500 million casino in New Haven, just north of Fort Wayne. The location took second place behind Indy in the study.

“From the indications I got from state officials, those outside of Marion County, they’re going to be tough to win over. Especially since there’s not been a firm plan put in place for what will happen with a casino downtown.”

In the coming months, Shuey said we should see discussion start to ramp up on this, as we move closer to the regular session next year. He said that, according to state leaders, there’s a lot of “winning over” to do, in terms of gaining support from those outside of Marion County in order to make this a reality.