AMHERST — A pantry for University of Massachusetts students and employees who are experiencing food insecurity, representing a long-term partnership between the university and the Amherst Survival Center, will open next fall at the former Newman Catholic Center building at 472 North Pleasant St.

The Campus Food Pantry will offer non-perishable and fresh foods provided by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, along with donated and purchased food items, inside space with ample on-site storage and refrigeration, and which is also accessible by both car and public transportation.

In addition, the food pantry will be a hub for the Dean of Students Office’s basic needs initiative. That initiative aims to centralize access to the pantry and other campus services, like the Student Care Supply Closet and the student-run Food Recovery Network, ensuring leftover food at campus dining halls is not tossed out.

The announcement of the Campus Food Pantry comes at the end of National Hunger Action Month, recognizes that one in three college students face food insecurity across the country and responds to continued advocacy by UMass students.

“This partnership with the Amherst Survival Center to address food insecurity among our students represents our campus’s deep commitment to fostering a living-learning environment where our economically disadvantaged students are supported as they strive to achieve their educational goals,” UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes said in a statement.

Lev BenEzra, executive director of the Amherst Survival Center, said that many UMass students and employees come to the center at 138 Sunderland Road. The new food pantry on campus will provide a more holistic approach to meeting their needs, being better tailored to them.

“We want college students focusing on their studies, not worrying about where they will get their next meal, so we are excited to partner with UMass to meet this critical need,” BenEzra said. “The center has seen skyrocketing levels of need over the past few years, including from UMass students, both on-campus and off.”

In the last fiscal year, the Survival Center provided 1.6 million meals, prepared and groceries, to 11,000 people, well over previous years. Just from July through September, the Survival Center saw a 75% increase in food distribution from the same timeframe as last year, with 17% of people being served affiliated with the university.

“The university will provide the funding, with the pantry operated and run by the Amherst Survival Center, which will hire staff and rely on volunteers,” BenEzra said

UMass spokeswoman Melinda Rose confirmed this approach. “We don’t know specific costs yet, but the university will commit the resources necessary to make it successful and will seek all resources available including state, federal and philanthropic funding,” Rose said.

BenEzra said part of the planning involves whether to model the pantry after ones that exist at campuses like Holyoke and Greenfield community colleges.

With support from the Food Bank, it also won’t diminish what exists at the main site. “It really enhances what we’re able to offer,” BenEzra said.

In addition to community support, like the fifth annual Hike for Hunger taking place throughout October, BenEzra also cites support from those who represent the region in both the state Legislature and U.S. Congress.

State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, who previously served as the Survival Center’s executive director, in turn praised student activists and institutional leaders for making the new site a reality.

“This partnership represents a new and deeper level of community-campus collaboration, and I am excited to see it advance,” Domb said. “There’s more work to do, and I look forward to using all the strategies we have available to respond to hunger in our community, including our campus community.”

State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, said students having access to healthy and nutritious food will improve learning. “Western Massachusetts continues to lead the commonwealth in developing innovative solutions to combat hunger,” Comerford said. “This food pantry is an important step toward ending hunger in the region.”

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, too, said that food is a human right and students too often fall through the cracks and needs unaddressed.

“The next generation of Americans can’t study for their exams or prepare for careers that advance the future of this country when all they can think about is how hungry they are,” McGovern said.

Prior to the pandemic, the UMass Student Food Pantry offered free non-perishable food to all students from a room in Bartlett Hall. That pantry was run by the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and members of the Student Government Association and the Graduate Student Senate. Efforts to replace that have included the Center for Education Policy and Advocacy launching a student-run food closet in April.

UMass Dining also has supported the campus food security initiative through a discount program at various campus locations, a Supplemental Meal Swipe Program and a Meal Plan Assistance Program for students facing financial hardship.

Anti-hunger efforts at UMass are guided by the Food Security Working Group, convened by the Dean of Students Office, which brings together campus officials, student group representatives and bringing together campus officials as well as representatives from student groups and off-campus partners to meet regularly to discuss food insecurity, and identify root causes and potential solutions.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.