An Update to Cougar Cupboard

By: David Harrington

Before the beginning of the University of Sioux Falls’s new spring semester, the on-campus food pantry, known as the Cougar Cupboard, moved to a new location and added major updates to give students more options. The changes allow for more well-rounded meals. “The new location is 15 feet to the left of the old location in what used to be Study Room 5,” said staff lead for the Cougar Cupboard, Kristin Kotas. Kotas, along with help from Librarian Annie Sternburg and Vice President for Academic Affairs Joe Obermeller, determined that the study room would be an excellent location for the Cougar Cupboard. “We thought that would be a great place to move the cupboard, so it’s more private for students,” said Kotas. You can hear the passion in Kotas’s words when talking about the improvements. “Our updates are super exciting. We bought new shelving and two new rolling standing baskets and received a standing freezer donation from an old employee of USF. Then the full-size fridge and freezer were from another area on campus that wasn’t in use anymore, in addition to moving into the new location.” 

With the addition of a fridge and freezer, the Cougar Cupboard can now offer all the ingredients to make a meal. The cupboard now has ground hamburger meat to add to your spaghetti sauce. Or deli meat along with cheese slices to make a sandwich. The updates to the Cougar Cupboard were made possible by two grants, written by Allan Idjao, Associate Director of Student Life, and Andrew Porteous, Director of Student Life and Housing. As for the hope of the cupboard going forward, “Growth with this is a hard thing because more people are in need but also because we know the need is there. I hope the growth looks like more consistent opportunities and resources and that we can better serve.” Kotas said.