Oswego State’s food pantry, Students Helping Oz Peers, or SHOP, has been open for over a year and has already had a big impact on campus.

The pantry opened in October of last year and has been rather successful. Students from across campus have volunteered their time to helping the pantry operate and said they have been impressed with how well SHOP has been running.

One student, Sabrina Ventrano, has had the opportunity to volunteer through her involvement in the school’s chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, the national service fraternity.

“It’s been pretty successful,” Ventrano said. “A lot of people came in. It was a lot of people’s first times.”

The SHOP provides nonperishable foods and other grocery items for students who may not be able to afford it.

“There was a bunch of shampoo, shaving cream, oatmeal,” Ventrano said. “It’s always very full.”

The SHOP’s purpose is to alleviate financial burdens on students.

“Food insecurity issues affect students at colleges and universities everywhere,” said Dean of Students Jerri Howland in an interview with Student Life on Oswego State’s website. “When you have to make a choice between buying books and food, well, we don’t want students to have to make that choice.”

Apart from food, the pantry has recently been accepting donations for business clothes for students who cannot afford them.

“In one of my business classes, someone failed the whole class because he wore jeans to the final presentation,” said student coordinator Kayla Murphy in an interview with Oswego County Today. “So, if someone can’t afford it, they should be able to have it available to them.”

Ventrano tabled for the SHOP on behalf of Alpha Phi Omega in their business clothes drive earlier this month. She was excited to help for such a cause.

“I think their mission is to help people and students in the community get supplies that they may not be able to,” Ventrano said.

According to the Student Life article, the SHOP got $4,000 in funding originally, with a majority of that coming from the Student Association’s Miss-A-Meal fundraiser.

Howland, in the article published in November of 2016, said, “We are glad it’s students serving students,” and “it’s a great collaboration for our community.”

Since then, the SHOP’s goal has been to make itself known around campus with the help of Murphy, its student intern, as well as its many volunteers from various organizations on campus.

The SHOP’s presence on campus has been made known through their efforts, such as the business clothes drive, other tabling around campus and its advertising.

One of Murphy’s goals for the remainder of the semester, according to Oswego County Today, is to make sure the SHOP and its resources are known to students who live off campus.

Over the past year, the SHOP has been adamant in providing essential resources for students in need, and plans to continue to do so for years to come.

“I think it’s a great thing on campus,” Ventrano said.

Kellsie Zacholl | The Oswegonian