Harper’s Hawks Care Pantry expands to better serve students in need

When Katie Butera took over Harper College’s Hawks Care Pantry in 2023, it was tucked away in a small room on campus and carried a few essentials. In just a few years, the pantry has moved into a larger space, expanded its selection to include everything from fresh produce to infant products and become a vital source of support for Harper students.

Hawks Care Resource Center provides Harper students with nonacademic support, including transportation, child care and connections to community resources. As Hawks Care’s manager, Katie made revitalizing the pantry her top priority.

“They were using some very homegrown approaches, like loading up the manager’s personal vehicle and using office furniture to display the food,” she said. “Within three weeks of being hired, we were moving. It more than quadrupled the space that we had for the pantry, and everything is in alignment with food safety management for the state of Illinois.”

Katie credits the pantry’s expansion and success to support from the Harper Grows Community Garden, which donates fresh produce grown on campus, the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Jewel-Osco in Rolling Meadows.

“There’s a lot of coordination and a lot of consideration, and we’re really happy they’ve embraced us,” she said.

Katie said the Hawks Care team, Harper Wellness, Student Engagement and the Center for New Students and Orientation work together to stock the pantry.

“They have been some of our biggest champions for sending over their student aides, and man, we put them to work,” she said. “The more volunteers that we have, the faster it goes, because when we get our orders in, we’re talking anywhere from three to four and a half pallets of food that are six feet tall.”

Hawks Care Administrative Secretary Gabriela Sanchez helps with planning and logistics. She said she has had a lot of fun fulfilling orders and working with the team.

“We try to incorporate more items so students will have a positive experience while shopping the food pantry,” she said. “So things like gluten-free, low-sugar, kosher and halal items, just things that we know our students would benefit from.”

Gabriela said the pantry also has expanded its offerings to support student parents.

“We’ve seen how the prices have gone up substantially for everything, including baby care items, so we offer them to our student parents along with wipes,” she said. “Personal care items are also always in great need.”

Harper student Edith Mugisha moved to the area from Uganda and has used the pantry to supplement her household supplies and get breakfast items for her children. She likes using the pantry because everyone there is welcoming and the pantry is generous with what it gives.

“I’m not yet accustomed to a lot of American food, and they try to be accommodating,” she said. “I’m able to pick out food that I can improvise and make something that’s great. For example, I’ll pick canned green beans, then get canned tomatoes and make my own kind of stew the way I like it. I also like that they have a variety of rice. I’ve taken some ladies over there, and they’re excited because they have the things they normally use.”

Katie said the revitalized pantry reflects Harper’s culture of care by creating a sense of belonging and meeting student needs.

“Our whole job exists to support students by mitigating their nonacademic barriers and connecting them to campus and community resources,” she said. “We promote a sense of belonging on campus through that holistic support. A lot of people use the term basic needs, but we’re really meeting those essential needs for being a Harper College student.”