Case Western Reserve University partners with Greater Cleveland Food Bank to broaden reach of Physical Resource Center

Case Western Reserve University has taken an important step in caring for its campus community by partnering with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to broaden the reach of its already well-established Physical Resource Center. The Physical Resource Center provides the campus community with necessities like non-perishable foods, clothing, cleaning supplies, and other needed items. Partnering with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank will give the Physical Resource Center the means to provide even more for its community in need.

According to a release on Case Western Reserve University’s website, Allison Gillis, who is the associate dean of students, was quoted as saying of the new partnership, “Partnering with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank allows us to purchase more food at significantly lower costs and purchase more fresh food products. It also gives us access to additional GCFB resources such as cooking classes, SNAP outreach, grant opportunities and more.”

Gillis went on to explain that something of this sort has been a long time coming, as the university has been looking for ways to offer more support to the community: “Working more closely and collaboratively with our community has been an ongoing mission for CWRU, and this is just one step closer towards that. The most exciting part of this partnership is our ability to provide our students, faculty, staff and community members with safe and nutritious food for free, and knowing the impact that will have.”

The partnership officially began at the end of January, after Gillis, Helen Dumski of the Department of Nutrition, Marc Hartmann, who is the director of student activities and leadership, Ayowole Ajiboye, graduate assistant for the Physical Resource Center, all spent several months pursuing the partnership. With its first delivery, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank supplied the Physical Resource Center with 1,200 pounds of food. This will be replenished with monthly deliveries from the food bank as well as weekly pickups by the Physical Resource Center. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank also has a mobile food pantry that comes to campus each semester.

The Physical Resource Center was established in 2020, initially providing clothing, books, and kitchenware. Food insecurity was steadily increasing, though, and the Physical Resource Center began supplying food items, as well. The Physical Resource Center predicts that it will need to be able to provide 15,000 pounds of food this year, a large increase from the 4,000 pounds it provided in the past.

For more information about Case Western Reserve University, visit the school’s website.