The Virginia Western Student Co-Op, Fueled by Kroger, is supported by gifts and donations to ensure that every student in need has access to help and support as we fight against food insecurity.  To best serve those students, we will be transitioning to an appointment-based system beginning on Monday, October 3. This will also enable us to serve our students with the one-on-one attention they deserve, connecting them with additional resources if needed.

Students will need to log-into Navigate and make an appointment (choose “Student Life” as the area for assistance). Students can visit one time per week, and can take up to 10 items of their choosing per visit.   Staff will be available if students want support in choosing items that will best meet their needs.  The Co-op will continue to be stocked with both grab-and-go items, as well as food to cook at home, so that students can get what they need for either supporting them on campus or at home. We will also be able to increase available supplies of personal hygiene items.

 (Instructions for scheduling an appointment in Navigate are located here: https://www.virginiawestern.edu/advising/schedule-an-appointment/).

Students who are just looking for a quick snack are encouraged to visit a campus vending machine, bookstore, or the Coffee 101 café.

While this change will work to support most students with food needs, we realize that some students may find they are in a situation where they need more resources. Here are some additional options:

• If your student has food insecurity and is in a temporary situation – please contact Natasha Lee to request the student have an additional allotment from our Co-op. Examples of temporary situations might be a job change/waiting on a paycheck, changing living situations, experienced unusual bills one month, or had an emergency that left the student with less money for a temporary amount of time.
• If your student is in a situation where they are experiencing chronic food insecurity:
  • Refer the student to our information about enrolling in SNAP for additional support: https://www.virginiawestern.edu/students/snap/  . The SNAP program has expanded its benefit availability for college students and more students are eligible than ever before.
  • Refer the student to Intervention Services for assistance with finding additional community resources (Sheri Meixner – Smeixner@virginiawestern.edu).

Thank you, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Natasha Lee

Student Activities Coordinator, Virginia Western Community College