Middlesex College highlights expanded community resource hub and food pantry as student needs grow

Middlesex College trustees heard an April 16 presentation on the college's community resource hub and on-campus food pantry that serve students'basic needs, including food, clothing, housing assistance, transportation supports and a Chromebook loan program.

The presentation by Amanda Lyons, community resource coordinator, and Jennifer (director of counseling), described steep growth in use: spring 2018 recorded 206 pantry visits by 84 individual students; fall 2024 recorded 2,836 visits by 500 individual students. Lyons said the pantry recorded 5,956 visits in the most recent 12-month period by 822 individual students, representing, the presentation said, a 978% increase in visits since the pantry opened in 2018 and a 40% increase from the prior year.

Lyons told trustees the pantry offers two shopping options: a weekly grocery shop, where students choose items to fill a shopping basket, and a daily "grab-and-go" option for snacks, beverages and ready meals. Lyons said community partners and donors supply meals and food: the Sapphic Meal Foundation prepares and delivers 35 fresh vegetarian meals each Wednesday, and the Middlesex College Foundation and the college's culinary program prepare and freeze about 4,500 meals per academic year for the pantry freezer.

The presentation described additional hub services: case management, a Chromebook loaner program and support for housing, utilities, health care, transportation and child care. Lyons said the hub manages the foundation's student emergency plan and connects students to county agencies and local nonprofits for services that the hub cannot directly provide.

Trustees heard several student success stories during the presentation. Lyons highlighted Antoinette Moguel, who enrolled in 2022 while parenting a young child, began the nursing program in fall 2023, gave birth to a second child in November 2023 and is due to graduate this May and sit for the registered nurse licensure exam.

On funding, the presenters said the Middlesex College Foundation's Giving Day campaigns have provided $238,796 for hub and pantry work since 2020. Since fiscal year 2023, the college's grants office has secured $485,980 in grant funding to stock the pantry, hire staff and purchase supplies and equipment. Lyons and Jennifer thanked the grants office's Jacqueline Rivera and Yamalah Pivo, and Lisa Kelly, executive director of the Middlesex College Foundation, for their support.

In a brief question-and-answer period, Lyons said housing affordability is the college's most significant nonacademic barrier for students: "Housing is so expensive here," she said. She also described transportation and child care as persistent obstacles and said the hub coordinates with county continuum-of-care partners to conduct in-person intakes; the presentation said a county partner interviewed 72 students during the last academic year.

A county official who attended the meeting and identified themselves as the department head of economic development noted partnerships between the college and Middlesex County agencies, including the Middlesex County Board of Social Services (MC BOSS). The official said a TANF Innovation grant of $890,000, secured by the county, can provide additional supports for transportation and child care for students enrolled in certificate-level programs and encouraged students to contact the county's Office of Workforce and Career Development for co-enrollment possibilities.

Trustees and attendees thanked Lyons and the hub staff. Several trustees said they would publicize donation and volunteer opportunities on campus. The presenters provided a link to the foundation's Giving Day page with additional testimonials and a list of donation items and collection locations.

The presentation did not propose formal policy changes or require board action; trustees accepted the report.