The University of Mary Washington received a grant from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) earlier this year to support efforts addressing student food insecurity and campus hunger.
UMW was awarded nearly $9,000 through SCHEV’s Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry Grant Program, created through legislation enacted by the Virginia General Assembly last year to help colleges and universities expand access to nutritious food and strengthen campus food pantry operations.
At UMW, the grant will benefit the Gwen Hale Resource Center (GHRC), which provides food, clothing, and other basic necessities and resources to students.
“This generous grant will allow UMW to expand our services,” said University Librarian Amy Filiatreau, who helps manage the GHRC. “We anticipate purchasing much-needed new appliances and shelving, as well as expanding our offerings of free, nutritious food for our community.”
The GHRC is named in honor of Hale, the longtime Writing Center director who worked to expand food resources at UMW before her death in 2021, helping to launch what was then called the Eagle Resource Closet. Faculty, staff and students have continued that work, including Professor of Sociology Leslie Martin along with Filiatreau and dozens of student volunteers. The center’s day-to-day operations are currently coordinated by AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) member Amara Zavala ’25.
In addition to the grant, the GHRC will receive expanded staffing support beginning this month as Marissa Miller, director of UMW’s Center for Prevention and Education, formally adds that duty to her current role. Miller said her work with GHRC builds on longstanding efforts to support student well-being and connect them with essential resources. She described it as “village work” that requires collaboration on and off campus with a variety of groups and organizations committed to addressing food insecurity.
Local and regional partners include the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, Giant Food, Virginia Community Food Connections and Rappahannock Education Farm. Additional support comes through monetary and in-kind donations from UMW Athletics, faculty, staff, alumni, student organizations and programs such as Swipe Out Hunger and Mary Wash Day.
SCHEV awarded a total of $500,000 in Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry grants this winter to 48 public and private colleges and universities across Virginia.
Learn more about the Gwen Hale Resource Center, including ways to donate food, supplies or funds on their website.
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