MOSES LAKE — For Big Bend Community College students, the Viking Food Pantry can help them bridge a crucial gap.

Food Pantry Director Tara McCoy said there aren’t a lot of options out by the campus for students who don’t have transportation to the grocery store – or who might lack the resources for food.

“We don’t have a cafeteria on campus,” McCoy said. “So, we allow students who may need a lunch or snack item to come in – they can get lunch or a snack item daily. They also can get a food box once a week, per household, per student, up to 50 pounds of food. Compared to some colleges, we have a very robust food pantry.”

The pantry also is open to BBCC employees, she said.

McCoy tracked pantry use in January and found 164 students checked in for pantry use, whether that was a lunchtime snack or a food box. Of that, 149 took home a food box at least once during the month.

The Viking Pantry opened in 2016 because college officials realized some students needed food and, for whatever reason, couldn’t get it, according to an earlier Columbia Basin Herald story. The pantry is located in the BBCC administration building in a remodeled section of the former college bookstore.

McCoy took over as manager in 2022, she said. She’s also the coordinator for a grant for homeless students and a benefits navigator. In that role, she helps students determine if they are eligible for benefits and how to apply for them.

College officials are working on reopening the cafeteria, which has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic. There were some vending machines around campus, McCoy said, but that was about it. The Viking Pantry provides students with some options.

“We expanded a little bit, and we have seven snack stations set up across campus that are free to students. Just a little snack to get you through, because sometimes that’s all you need,” McCoy said. “Some of them have refrigerators and freezers and some of them have microwaves. We stock those every week; a couple of them are twice a week because they’re high use.”

The Viking Pantry is open Monday through Thursday for BBCC students who need more substantial help. Its shelves are filled with canned, boxed and dried food. There's another option for students who can’t get to the pantry during business hours.

“I call it VFP2,” McCoy said. “It’s like a satellite; it’s in the dorms. It’s set up for students if they need anything after hours. It’s just a small scale, some basic needs to get them through until the pantry will be open again for them to get a box.”

The pantry has personal hygiene items – things like laundry soap and shampoo and conditioner – and a selection of clothes.

“Our first thought was people are going to be wanting to do interviews and whatnot. At first it was (dress) clothes, but managing the grant that’s supporting students experiencing homelessness, I’ve had a couple students who’ve come (to college) literally with what they had on. So, we expanded a little more to include everyday wear,” McCoy said.

The pantry also accepts donations of coats and gloves in good condition.

“People will donate coats, which has been phenomenal,” McCoy said. “Because I have had students who have gotten to this area and literally had no idea of the weather we have here – it's cold, really cold – and then not have a warm coat. And (we’ve said), ‘Come and check, see what we have.’ We had somebody just recently give a $100 donation of hats and gloves. That was really awesome.”

The students who use the Viking Pantry are a cross-section of the student body, she said.

“I see a little bit of everything. We see people (who) are right at that cusp. They don’t qualify for SNAP benefit, and they have all these bills, and they really need food to feed their family. So, I see from families all the way to the single student who just doesn’t have access to get to town,” she said.

“Some people I see in here every week. Some people I see in here every day to get a snack or food. There are a couple regulars, and then some students will only come, like, once a month. They just hit that part of the month where it’s, like, ‘Man, I really just need a little more to get me through.’ So, it ranges from every day down to once in a while,” McCoy said.

The Viking Pantry has benefited from its partnership with the Moses Lake Food Bank and a generous community, both at the college and around town, she said.

“We have a table that’s set up in the hallway (in the administration building), and people leave everything from boxes and bags – because we run low on those all the time – to food items to some clothing items, personal hygiene, they can just leave it there,” she said. “And we’ll go by and pick it up.”

The pantry also gets regular donations from staff, students and community.

“I love when people donate, and I love when businesses get together and then they surprise us,” McCoy said. “A lot of them have been surprises, and I’m just so thankful.”

Donations can be dropped off at the Viking Pantry during business hours, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

“You can always contact me, because I can come pick it up if it’s local,” McCoy said.

She’s also willing to accommodate people who can’t make it during business hours.

“I’m not always in the office, but I will come and take the donation,” she said.

    Boxes, cans and bottles of food fill the shelves of the Viking Food Pantry on the Big Bend Community College campus.
  

    The food pantry has benefited from what director Tara McCoy said were numerous donations, including one in December from the Moses Lake Seventh Day Adventist Church, Crestview Christian School and the Brite Beginnings Learning Center.