After watching two college students jog down the hall with a bag of “old lady food” on a July Monday morning, a mission was born.
On November 4th, the Millikin Market officially opened to students. The Market is designed to combat food insecurity in the Millikin community so students can focus more on their studies instead of worrying about where their next meal will come from.
“If people are hungry, the only thing on their mind is where to get food,” Molly Berry, Interim Vice President of Admission and Student Affairs at Millikin, said. “We need students ready for the demands of college and not solely focusing on food. The Market helps students fill the gap.”
The Market is structured like a store where students can “shop” and choose which products they want to take for the week for free. While shopping, they are directed to only take a certain amount from different shelves to ensure there is plenty for everyone. The shelf contents contain breakfast items, canned foods, snacks, produce, meat, bread, dairy, and additional pantry staples.
“I just want them to feel empowered that they have a choice, that they have hope,” Lori Kerans, Vice President for Athletics and Community Engagement, said. “We hopefully have things that they say, ‘Yes, I can see myself eating that.’”
The Market is open on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Market is located in New Hall 2, and students should enter through the front door and bring their Millikin ID. It is an available resource to any student who does not possess a full or 175-meal plan. There is also a Grab & Go Station available Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for quick snacks.
“We had a pantry option for students for over seven years, but we wanted to take it to the next level and offer students more accessibility with this option,” Berry said. “Trying to move quickly, think outside of the box, and do something new is always a challenge.”
The idea of the Millikin Market was not something that had been in the works for a long time. Instead, it was an initiative born out of necessity and accelerated into action. While the term “food insecurity” is often tossed around, few truly understand the concept until it is standing in front of them.
Kerans had only been in her new office for a couple of days when she heard the door of New Hall 2 open at 7:05 a.m. on the Monday after the Fourth of July weekend. In walked two Millikin students, hoping there would be some kind of food option available since they knew the building often had baked goods or snacks. Kerans checked the space, but there wasn’t a crumb to be found.
“They looked me right in the eye, and they said, ‘Don’t you have anything?’” Kerans said.
Kerans walked into her office and opened her newly installed mini fridge and pulled out a plastic sack filled with “old lady food,” such as yogurt, string cheese sticks, and applesauce. The two students looked into the bag, told Kerans thank you, picked it up, and went jogging down the hall.
“I knew that they were truly hungry, because that’s not what they really wanted, but that’s what I had,” Kerans said. “So it was at that moment, that Monday morning at 7:05, when I, for the first time, really realized some of our students, some of our Millikin family and community, may be food insecure.”
Ever since that moment, Kerans was not content to sit idly by while she knew there were those on campus struggling with food insecurity. She became determined to do something but wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed. She began conversations with the Director of the Big Blue Pantry, the Northeast Community Fund, and the WSOY Food Drive to figure out how they do things and what aspects of their operations would work for Millikin’s needs.
“Ultimately, I knew I was going to do it, but I didn’t know how,” Kearns said. “So I started gathering people who were like-minded in terms of wanting to help Millikin, and we just kept putting one foot in front of the other. We’d have an idea; sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t, and we just kept going.”
With the support of community partners, volunteers, and Millikin faculty united with the common goal of making food and essential products accessible to those in need, they were able to get equipment donated and space created for operating the Market.
The Decatur community not only accepted the new Millikin Market, but they also embraced it with a willingness to help in whatever way they could. Local entities like Tillamook, Ray’s Chili, and Pepsi have stepped up and risen to the occasion in supporting the Market’s operations.
“I’m really pleased that the university has bought in, and the students are feeling seen and appreciated and understood, and the community has stepped up to help us do it,” Kerans said.
Data from the Market’s first day of operation revealed 158 students utilized the Market. 71% of the users were male, and the majority were in their sophomore or junior year. Most were residents of The Woods, and 46% of the users were athletes.
“We’re not just opening the doors and saying, ‘Come in and take all you want,’” Kerans said. “We’re saying, who’s using it? How can we better serve that population? What do we need to do differently?”
Items and products in the Market come from a variety of sources and donors, but one of the Market’s largest donors at this time is Northeast Community Fund. The Market started their first day with 3,080 items, and by the end of the day, the Market had distributed 2,407 of those items.
“Everybody has a lot of problems, but if you’re food insecure, you have one problem, and that’s, how am I going to eat?” Kerans said.
Sustainability and continued community support are critical success factors for the future of the Market. Both of these factors are at the forefront of Kerans’ and the Market team’s minds. Through data collection and careful inventory tracking, they are navigating the most intentional way to serve the Millikin community.
“Because we’ve started to earn the trust of the students in the campus community, I want to continue that, and so it has to be sustainable,” Kerans said. “If you asked me, ‘Where are we going to get the food for March 15 of next year?’ I don’t know, but what I know is we will, and what I believe is that it will be provided. Some questions are still out there, but it’s going to happen. It is happening. I’m proud of it. I’m grateful for it.”
While the numbers demonstrate the use of the Market, the true impact is immeasurable and unquantifiable. Numbers could never communicate the gratitude expressed when a student realizes they don’t have to worry about food for the week. Data can’t describe the volunteer with tears streaking down their face because they are elated to be a part of a mission that is dedicated to the well-being of Millikin students.
“I did not truly understand that folks on our campus might be food insecure,” Kerans said. “When you see food insecurity, like those two young men who were going through those drawers over there, and then I’ve seen those two young men come into the market, and you know, you’re doing something good. That just makes it all worth it for me.”
For more information about the Millikin Market, please visit https://millikin.edu/campus-life/campus-life/student-resources/millikin-market
