The Cupboard at Penn College receives Department of Ed grant
Thursday, March 19, 2026
For the second consecutive year, Pennsylvania College of Technology was awarded a $40,000 Hunger-Free Campus Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The grant will be used to support The Cupboard, a food pantry operated by the college’s Dining Services department, and its mission to help Penn College students and their families.
Exterior of The Cupboard at Penn College, a free food pantry for Pennsylvania College of Technology students facing food insecurity. The facility was awarded its second Hunger-Free Campus Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Photo by Anna E. Reed, photographer (student)
“Our student need for The Cupboard continues to increase each year,” said Mark J. Leo, the college’s director of auxiliary services. “The last year to date statistics show that there was over a 25% increase in need for the services, which help students experiencing food insecurity. As a self-funded entity of the institution, we are extremely grateful that Penn College is a recipient of this year’s grant. We could not meet the demand without the support of the state of Pennsylvania and the Hunger-Free Grant.”
In 2024-25, The Cupboard at Penn College served more than 850 students, distributing just over 10,000 pounds of food. Based on the first few months of the 2025-26 academic year, the college anticipates serving about 1,000 students and distributing close to 13,000 pounds of food.
The grant award will be used to supply students with an increased variety of protein, fresh produce and grocery items. In addition, the funds help to support students who consider Penn College their home over academic closure periods and breaks by providing “break boxes” filled with additional items during those periods. A portion of the funds are also set aside to provide emergency meals in the college’s dining facilities for students in distress who have an immediate need for help.
Inside The Cupboard, shelves are stocked with nonperishable foods, hygiene products and products for student-parents (such as diapers and wipes), while a commercial refrigerator and freezer, funded through last year's Hunger-Free Campus Grant, provide fresh proteins and produce.
The PA Hunger-Free Campus Grant program is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education.
Feeding Pennsylvania reports 1 in 8 Pennsylvanians experience food insecurity. That percentage is often higher among college students due to limited employment opportunities and the loss of other food funding sources, such as school lunch and food assistance. Colleges and universities across the country are taking steps to address these issues so students can focus on their education instead of where to find their next meal.
The Cupboard at Penn College opened in Fall 2016 after a survey by the college’s Dining Services department found that more than half of the students who responded said they had gone without food or skipped a meal because they lacked the money or resources to eat.
Since then, The Cupboard has steadily grown from its first location, in a former closet where only nonperishable items were offered, to its current site outside an on-campus convenience store. It also added six “mini-Cupboards” – each with a small refrigerator and shelving – throughout the main campus, the Lumley Aviation Center and the Schneebeli Earth Science Center.
The Cupboard is managed by Dining Services, but it is supported entirely through donations from the campus community, industry and community partners, and grant funding. Donations of items are accepted at The Wildcat Express convenience store.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
For more information about grant-funding opportunities, faculty and staff may contact Grants & Sponsored Programs at ext. 7580.