Food Access
Through our commitments to reduce food waste, we have robust programming dedicated to prioritizing surplus food for human consumption before considering composting. We aim to have as little surplus food as possible, while having programs in place to address food insecurity throughout campus and the local community in the event we have a surplus.
We have additional programming to address concerns of food insecurity that run on a regular basis. Our partnership with the Campus Food Pantry and other community partners gives us insight into the needs of our students and greater community through data driven statistics and surveys.
Partnership with The Pantry at JMU
Dukes Punch for Dukes Events
Dukes Punch for Dukes events offer students the opportunity to donate extra meal punches. These punch donations are then sent to the Campus Food Pantry and allocated to students facing food insecurity.
Register Donations
Students are able to donate punches anytime at the registers at Mr. Chips, Market 64, and Festival. Just like our Dukes Punch for Dukes events, the punches are sent to the Campus Food Pantry and allocated to students facing food insecurity.
Regular Donations Through Mr. Chips
Students may purchase items anytime throughout the year at Mr. Chips for donation to the Campus Food Pantry. Students may communication with staff working at the register to let them know they would like to make a donation.
Semester Allotment
JMU Dining allots 2,000 punch vouchers to the Campus Food Pantry, which also go to students facing food insecurity.
Weekly Produce Ordering
Dukes Dining places weekly orders of produce for the Campus Food Pantry.
Ordering Through Mr. Chips
JMU Dining gives the Campus Food Pantry funds each semester to order frozen meals and toiletries through Mr. Chips. This allows the Pantry to get items they cannot source regularly through their other partners.
Promotional Cooking Classes
JMU Dining partners with the Campus Food Pantry for an educational/promotional cooking class once a semester. Chef Gordon highlights Pantry staple food items and provides insight into proper cooking techniques. Students get to sample each recipe and take home an informational brochure.
Interested in Learning More?
Click the button to access the Student Support Hub, containing key information about the Pantry at JMU and other campus efforts.
Community Partners
Panera End of Day Doughnations
Panera saves leftover pastries and bread for volunteers to pick up and take to the community. Some of the partnerships fostered through this program are a local Emergency Room, Trinity United Church, the Music Building Food Pantry, SDA Church, and the Campus Food Pantry.
Kelley Street Garden Partnership
JMU Dining collaborates with the Harrisonburg Redevelopment Housing Association (HRHA) on several events throughout the year. These events have including cooking demonstrations, providing food for clean-ups of their community garden (funded in part by JMU Dining), and catering for back-to-school celebrations.
Our Other Efforts
Shutdown Donations
Produce is collected at the end of each semester before heading into longer "shutdown" periods. The food is donated to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and then distributed to the local community.
Food Recovery Network (FRN)
JMU Dining has a partnership with the FRN chapter on campus. With the help of a group of volunteers, surplus food is recovered from E-Hall each week. This food goes to the Salvation Army.
Too Good To Go
JMU Dining has partnered with Too Good To Go, a social impact company that aids in limiting food waste. Too Good To Go is an app that allows certain locations on campus to sell surplus food- which would otherwise be composted- at a discounted price. Through the partnership, JMU Dining is able to reduce food waste while also addressing food insecurity on campus and in the greater community.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
SNAP allows students who qualify for SNAP benefits to purchase specific food items with an EBT card at Mr. Chips. JMU Dining offers this as another way to combat concerns of food insecurity.