Memos and Important Updates

To:          CCNY Community
From:      Benny’s Pantry Team
Date:      September 14, 2023
RE:         Benny’s Food Pantry Accessibility for CUNY Community

Dear Campus Community,

Welcome back to a new semester at City. As we have many new students, faculty and staff joining us for the first time this year, we wanted to bring to your attention an important matter regarding the accessibility of our food pantry, Benny’s Food Pantry, and its intended beneficiaries. This campuswide announcement serves as an update and clarification of our policies to ensure that the pantry is available as a continued source of support for students, faculty and staff who need access throughout the year.

Background:
The City College College of New York Food Pantry (Benny’s Pantry) has been a vital resource for students, faculty, staff, and their families who may experience food insecurity at any point throughout the year. Since it’s launch in 2016, its impact on a larger community has grown and Benny’s has become an essential part of our commitment to the well-being of our community members. As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted our city, we extended access to the pantry to the broader CUNY community.
However, now that the pandemic statistics have improved, we will revert back to our original service mandate to serve the City College Community. As many of you know,  Benny’s  relies  solely  on philanthropy, donations of goods, and volunteers to operate and in order to sustain this important work, and allocate resources as widely as possible, the following policy updates are shared with you now and we hope that you will share them with your peers and colleagues:

Policy Update:
In line with our mission to prioritize the City College community's needs, we are implementing the following policy updates to ensure that the food pantry remains accessible to as many of our community members as possible:

1. Eligibility:

• The food pantry is primarily intended for current City College of New York students, faculty and staff;
• As Benny’s is located within the NAC building, all individuals must present a valid City College ID or proof of enrollment at City College to access the pantry.

2. Guest Policy:

• While we understand the importance of supporting friends and family members, our primary focus, and the philanthropic support we receive, allows us to serve the immediate City College community, including residents in the Towers and members of our downtown/CWE campus;
• Guests who are not affiliated with City College may be granted access on a case-by-case basis, with prior approval from the pantry team. An email requesting access can be sent to  bennysfoodpantry@ccny.cuny.edu .

3. Outreach:

• We will continue to enhance our outreach efforts via broadcast emails and Benny’s Food Pantries social media, to ensure that all city college community members are aware of the pantry's services and hours of operation;
• Collaborations with City College student organizations, faculty, and staff will continue to be important and encouraged in order to to promote pantry usage among eligible individuals.
• Throughout the academic year, due in large part to support we receive from private philanthropy and local business partners, we are able to host special ‘food sharing’ days, including a local community food drive during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks and our Migrant Kitchen Meal distributions held throughout the year. Those events will continue to be announced as they are scheduled.
• We will also continue to partner with, and share information on, other important resources including SNAP Benefit Applications, local collaborative pantries that are also open on weekends and healthy food programs in collaboration with other CUNY schools.

Implementation:
These policy updates will take effect on October 1, 2023. We will ensure that clear communication of these changes is disseminated to the CCNY community through various channels, including our website, social media, and on-campus announcements.

Conclusion:
By reaffirming our commitment to the City College community, we aim to maintain the integrity of our food pantry's mission. These policy updates will help us better serve our campus community while ensuring the sustainability of this essential resource.

If you have any questions, or wish to volunteer at Benny’s, please do not hesitate to reach out to  bennysfoodpantry@ccny.cuny.edu Your support and cooperation in implementing these changes are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Benny’s Pantry Team