Stony Brook University’s Seawolves Pantry serves community members including students, staff and faculty who are food insecure, or who are at risk of food insecurity.
Since 2013, it has been committed to being a reliable and stable supplemental source of food and other basic needs, while providing resources to overcome food insecurity. On its shelves, visitors will find healthy and nutritious food options, as well as school supplies, hygiene and health products, and cooking utensils.
“We serve as a host site for Empire State Service Corps students both at the Seawolves Pantry and Center for Civic Justice,” said Ashley Liegi, assistant director for the Department of Student Community Development.
Focus areas of Empire State Service Corps members include food insecurity/SNAP basic needs; civic engagement/civil discourse; early childhood education; FAFSA completion; K-12 education; peer mental health; student success coaching; sustainability and Veterans Affairs outreach. The group includes 29 total students.
“No one should go hungry or have to endure additional stress because the food assistance they expect and deserve is being used as a bargaining chip,” said New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. “Our state is stepping up: the Empire State Service Corps provides SUNY students with civic engagement opportunities to serve their communities, and during the crisis I am proud that these students are ready to help our most vulnerable.”
Governor Hochul’s initiative calls on students to coordinate with SUNY staff and assist with regional food pantries and food banks, or to provide services at their campus food pantries.
“The dedicated SUNY students who participate in the Empire State Service Corps program serve our state in a multitude of civic engagement opportunities, and they are ready to step up in this food insecurity crisis,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr.
Katie McCombs, coordinator of Student Community Development, oversees much of what the Empire State Service Corps students are working on. The group is located in the Student Union where the main pantry is located, and also manages two satellite locations, one in the Student Activities Center and one in the LGBTQ Center.
“I got involved with the pantry because I have always been passionate about ensuring that any student regardless of status has the means to succeed,” said McCombs ’23, ’24, a Stony Brook alumna who earned an undergraduate degree in history and a master’s in secondary education and teaching. “I have always wanted to work in a position that had a palpable impact on people. While at times things may be stressful, it is truly rewarding to see the ways in which my efforts have impacted others.”
More than 20 volunteers staff the front-facing part of the pantry, while the Empire State Service Corps students are heavily involved behind the scenes, playing a key role in providing what it takes to keep the pantry running smoothly and effectively.
“Our Empire State Service Course students are integral to our ability to manage our three Seawolves Pantry locations on campus,” said Liegi. “They are responsible for processing donations from our generous on and off campus partners, maintaining a diverse inventory of goods, and coming up with strategies to make sure that we’re feeding as many students, staff, and faculty as we can who are experiencing basic needs insecurity on campus.”
Liegi described the Seawolves Pantry as “a well-utilized, and important resource on campus,” with nearly 7,000 total visits to the food pantry last year, and about 900 individual users. Some visited one time, others multiple times, and this year is on track to meet or surpass that number.
Among the services provided are SNAP consultations for students to help them with the application process. There’s also a fresh food program and a food waste reduction initiative where the group gets food donated from the East Side Dining Emporium Market in partnership with Stony Brook’s Auxiliary Services Association (ASA).
“We are incredibly grateful for our ongoing partnership with ASA and SBU Eats, and our Empire State Service Corps students work closely with these partners to reduce food waste on campus by picking up fresh food donations that we are then able to provide to our pantry users,” said Liegi.
Service Corps students also work on a personal project related to food security or basic needs. Trinity Zou ’26 works as an undergraduate student coordinator at the pantry, and also coordinates projects that connect food security with other areas of student well-being, such as her current project exploring the link between oral health and food access.
For Zou, the desire to help stems from her own experience. “Growing up, my grandparents relied heavily on food pantries and community donations,” she said. “I grew up eating pantry staples and canned goods. These experiences taught me that even when food options are limited, meals can still bring comfort and joy. I wanted to bring that same sense of dignity and enjoyment to others facing food insecurity.”
Zou describes her experience as “incredibly meaningful.”
“Every day, I get to see how donations directly impact students’ lives,” she said. “I enjoy talking with donors and hearing their stories, as well as helping students find not just what they need, but food they truly enjoy. Being part of this community has shown me how small acts of care can make a big difference.”
The Seawolves Pantry is open to anyone from the Stony Brook University community, including students, staff or faculty, but is predominantly used by students. It began as a small pantry in a residence hall in 2013 and was taken over by Student Community Development in 2020.
“In the past, our operation predominantly functioned with the support of student volunteers,” said Liegi. “This is the first year that we’ve served as a host site for the Empire State Service Corps, and it’s allowed us to offer paid positions to students to work on food and basic needs insecurity, which has elevated our work. It has been an incredible program for us to be involved in. Often work involving food insecurity is unpaid, so it’s really beneficial to be able to pay students to help us do this important work.”
— Robert Emproto
Campus Resources:
At Stony Brook Southampton:
FoodLab has been donating all of its farm produce to Heart of the Hamptons, which distributes food on the Stony Brook Southampton campus every Friday from 10 am to 12 pm
Long Island Cares in Hampton Bays
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