With the rising costs of tuition and the inconvenience of local grocery stores, food insecurity for U-M students has significantly increased. Many students do not have the financial means to afford groceries from higher-priced food markets close to campus, nor the time for the 1.5-hour round-trip bus ride to a more affordable grocery store. The U-M campus and city area adjacent to campus has become a “food desert,” with minimal and expensive options for students to purchase food.

Maize & Blue Cupboard is a student-run organization that addresses all levels of student food insecurity on campus by holding monthly food distributions. We believe all students, whether on a tight budget or physically restrained from getting to a grocery store, deserve access to healthy and affordable food. The Cupboard meets the needs of students by forming a complete sustainable circle of food waste. We source our food from Food Gatherers, a local food rescue organization, to create a path for food rescued from grocery stores to get into the hands of those who need it instead of it being wasted. Then, with any leftover food remaining, we continue its food rescue path to more people in need by donating the remainder of our food to Community Action Network.

Student Team: Zoe Hawtof, Michael Tang, Luke Shenton, Madeline Rabe, Anet Szatkowski, Forest Burczak.
Partner: Food Gatherers