NYU’s Student Government Assembly approved plans to create a food pantry at the Tandon School for Engineering, as part of its broader initiative to combat food insecurity on campus, as members kicked off their first official meeting of the academic year on Thursday.

The project, titled “The Unconventional Kitchen,” is estimated to cost about $29,000 and $27,600 over the next two years, respectively. The funding — which will come from the SGA’s existing $500,000 annual budget — will be used to purchase “healthy food staples, hygiene products and bulk goods” and support part-time student staff, according to a proposal for the project sent to WSN. The pantry will also host fresh produce pop-ups for students at no cost. 

“[The funding] also is going to be served to implement sustainable storage for these bulk items and reusable bags so that the pantry itself is also an environmentally friendly choice,” CAS sophomore Olivia Ge, a senator at-large for women in academia, told WSN. 

Tandon representatives chose a location for the pantry last summer and students began gathering local donations — including a “substantial” contribution from Wegmans grocery store, the proposal said.  

“Last year we created the Basic Needs ad hoc committee,” SPS graduate student Ashlie Oxford, the recently elected SGA chairperson, said in an interview with WSN. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the amazing and incredible work that the committee is going to do to improve basic needs and resources on campus.”

Contact Kaitlyn She Tu at [email protected].