The Viking Vault, welcomed hungry students with a free breakfast on the quad at the LAC on the first day of spring semester.
The Viking Vault is a means to provide sufficient food available to LBCC students in an effort to decrease food insecurity.
The Viking Vault is currently located on the PCC inside the Student Union, open on select Thursdays from 1-3pm, the schedule is on their instagram.
Healthy Viking Graduate Intern, Carmen Tatenco represented the Healthy Viking Initiative by engaging students and passing out food.
According to a survey by Temple University and the Wisconsin Hope Lab, 42% of students at community colleges are food insecure and 9% of those students admitted to going a whole day without eating in the last 30 days.
The Vault, led by Director of student life and student health, Deborah Miller Calvert, has the main purpose to help feed hungry students.
In order to receive food from the vault, students fill out a “Basic Needs Assessment” form.
Upon a one-time completion of the form students receive 15 Viking Points per week, which is just like cash, to go shopping at the Viking Vault for items that are 1, 2 or 3 points.
“We look forward to when the vault can be open more consistently to better serve more students,” adjunct faculty and Vice President of the Helping Homeless Students Associated Group, Michelle Pecheck said.
The library at both LAC and PCC are supporting the Viking Vault and students who need help with their library fines.
At LAC, Librarian and Professor Jeff Sabol had a table set up in the LAC library during the first week of spring session to promote “LBCC Library Fine$ for Food,” a program that provides up to $4 toward student library fine fees per excepted item.
The new initiative is led by Assistant Professor and Librarian Shamika Simpson. “All of the food from the ‘LBCC Library Fine$ for Food’ goes toward the Viking Vault,” Simpson said.
Students looking to take advantage of the Fine$ for Food program may stop by the library reference desk for more information.
Students who want to volunteer their time to the Viking Vault can email Graduate Intern Carmen Tatenco at ctatenco@lbcc.edu.