The UT Outpost distributed 43 tons of food to students last academic year, according to the Division of Student Affairs’ Annual Impact Report, marking an approximate three-times increase since 2022.

The UT Outpost, the University’s food pantry, raised about 8,000 pounds of food in 2018, said Tina Shively, the communications and marketing manager for the Office of the Dean of Students.

 Last academic year, the Outpost raised 86,000 pounds. The increase resulted from increased awareness of the Outpost and more community involvement, said Valeria Martin, the assistant director for basic needs and Terry scholars. 

“It’s really important to continue to increase the awareness about UT Outpost,” Martin said. “Sometimes I’ve heard from folks (who) say, ‘I wish I knew about you all sooner,’ and that is the thing that I would love to eliminate from our vocabulary.”

Martin said most donations came from donation drives, which student organizations usually host. However, Martin said most donation drives do not start until later in the semester. She said this can cause conflict because the beginning of the semester typically sees more students needing food. 

“The beginning of any semester is always our busiest time … when students are just moving back and maybe haven’t gotten a campus job yet, or haven’t had their first paycheck or have had to spend a lot more money to furnish an apartment,” Martin said. 

Martin said the Outpost team has to get creative to find resources at this time of year, so they typically reach out to staff and faculty. This semester, she said the Outpost hosted one of its first mobile food pantries with the Central Texas Food Bank on Tuesday as students moved in.

The Outpost’s partnership with the food bank started in the fall of 2022, Stephanie Keogh, the personal relations and communications partner for Central Texas Food Bank, said in an email. The partnership allows the Outpost to place weekly orders and have an extra day of restocking, Martin said. 

“Together, we have served more than 5,000 students between October 2023 (and) June 2024,” Keogh said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership and serving students on campus.” 

Martin said she hopes to expand the partnership this year by hosting more mobile food pantry events at times when the Outpost temporarily closes. She said  the partnership follows an increase in student use of the Outpost after the pandemic. 

Martin said the Outpost distributed about 28,000 pounds of food in the 2021-2022 academic year. She attributed the low distribution to accessibility issues caused by the pandemic, such as scheduling appointments to pick up food. 

“We’re so appreciative of the folks that continue to support us because we can’t do this alone,” Martin said. “With the support of others is how we can continue to serve more and more students every year.”