UNM-Gallup student Jesse Desiderio stocks the mobile food pantry inside the Student Services and Technology Center at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
Wanna box? Campus Food Pantry fights hunger
Categories: Students Faculty Staff Community
UNM-Gallup offers free weekly food boxes, mobile food pantry, commodities, and snacks for students
By Renaldo Fowler, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026
GALLUP, N.M. — For students like Jesse Desiderio, 38, of Gallup, having access to weekly food boxes and grab-and-go snacks helps him feed his family and avoid hunger so that he can better focus on his studies.
Desiderio is a nursing student at The University of New Mexico-Gallup, a student employee for the Student Resource Center, and a recipient of services from the center's new Campus Food Pantry. Desiderio, a father with six children, noted how beneficial the pantry has been for him and his family, especially with the current cost of living.
“It’s expensive out there,” he said. “So the food boxes really do come in handy and help out. Now I have enough food to balance my life at home, my college expenses, and things like that.”
In addition to grabbing snacks on the go between classes, Desiderio receives weekly food boxes from the Campus Food Pantry, which officially opened at UNM-Gallup during the 2025 fall semester. The food boxes are provided by The Community Pantry, a nonprofit organization based in Gallup that serves McKinley Coundy residents.
UNM-Gallup student Jesse Desiderio stocks the mobile food pantry inside the Health Careers Center at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
Each weekly food box comes with sliced carrots, peas, mixed veggies, diced tomatoes, diced pears, sliced peaches, canned ravioli, canned tuna, pouched chicken, whole wheat pasta, dry pinto beans, dry brown rice, oats, and shelf-stable milk.
While Desiderio benefits from the Campus Food Pantry himself, he pays it forward through his work with the Student Resource Center. He helps with daily operations at the center and is actively involved in maintaining the pantry and assisting students with food boxes. Students must sign up with the Student Resource Center to receive food boxes.
Desiderio also maintains the new Mobile Food Pantry, which started during the 2026 summer semester. The Mobile Food Pantry is a cart with wheels that is loaded with food items and parked in different buildings throughout the week. Students are invited to grab what they need from the cart with no questions asked.
Meeting the students’ needs
After getting the word out about the food pantry, Desiderio noticed an increase in student awareness and pantry visits at the Student Resource Center. He stressed that students should not hesitate to reach out for support.
Desiderio believes the Campus Food Pantry is important because it helps address student hunger and eases the financial strain students face. He said students should know that the pantry is an accessible resource designed specifically for them.
“I think it’s good that we have a pantry here because we can give food to the students," he said. "It’s all about the students.”
UNM-Gallup Accommodations Specialist Shana Arviso, who oversees the Student Resource Center, said that demand is growing steadily for Campus Food Pantry services. She said students have expressed how thankful they are receiving assistance from the pantry.
This Oct. 6, 2026, photo shows the mobile food pantry's items located inside the Student Services and Technology Center at The University of New Mexico-Gallup.
“I think it’s very important, especially with the high cost of everything right now,” she said. “If we can eliminate one worry of a student’s day to come to class, I think … we’re doing our best to support them.”
Arviso hopes to operate the Campus Food Pantry to its fullest potential by remaining sustainable and offering more to students. She hopes to establish a larger dedicated space where students can prepare or reheat meals, have refrigeration for perishable food items such as produce, and offer reusable refilling stations for personal care items.
The Campus Food Pantry currently accepts donations to keep shelves stocked for students. The pantry is seeking donations of non-perishable and shelf-stable foods and snacks such as canned goods, packages of dried goods, boxed meals, etc.
A statewide collaboration
The Campus Food Pantry’s origins can be traced to the Basic Needs Survey conducted by the UNM Basic Needs Project in 2023. The survey aimed to identify and address food and housing insecurity among students, staff and faculty across higher education institutions in New Mexico.
Arviso is a member of the New Mexico Basic Needs Consortium, which is a statewide collaboration of higher education institutions intended to reduce basic needs insecurity.
Data from the 2023 Basic Needs Survey showed that at UNM-Gallup, 60% of students, staff, and faculty experienced some form of basic needs insecurity. Specifically, 49% of students faced food insecurity.
During the 2025 fall semester, Arviso received funding from the consortium to use toward basic needs for UNM-Gallup students. Arviso used the funds to create meal kits for students in need during the winter holidays. The meal kits helped identify a need for food boxes that could be distributed to students, which led to a partnership with The Community Pantry.
Accommodations Specialist Shana Arviso assists a student receiving a weekly food box inside the Student Resource Center at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
The Community Pantry supplied the SRC with 50 pre-packaged boxes containing shelf-stable foods in April 2026. As of late September, the SRC has distributed 136 food boxes to UNM-Gallup students.
In addition to food boxes, the Campus Food Pantry distributes commodities such as dry goods, canned goods, and ready meals. Students have the option to take a quick snack between classes or take multiple items home to prepare a meal.
Students interested in learning more about the Campus Food Pantry or how to receive weekly food boxes can visit the Student Resource Center located in Gurley Hall 1127. The center's hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Visit the Student Resource Center website here.
Information: 505-863-7757 or galluparc2@unm.edu.
Accommodations Specialist Shana Arviso and UNM-Gallup student Jesse Desiderio pose for a photo at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
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The University of New Mexico - Gallup
705 Gurley Ave.
Gallup, NM 87301
(505) 863-7500
