Paloma Cura grabbed almonds, energy drinks, and Girl Scout cookies from CSU Pueblo’s Pack Pantry on a recent Friday afternoon. The 24-year-old education graduate student wasn’t embarrassed. She was practical.

“There really is a liberating feeling,” Cura said. “We are students, we are part of that population that need resources like this.”

But what surprised her most wasn’t the pantry itself. It was realizing that not enough people on campus know it exists, especially the faculty and staff who could help spread the word.

Federal data shows that nearly a quarter of the nation’s college students struggle with getting enough nutritious food. That’s 3.8 million students, including thousands in Colorado. Hunger makes it harder to concentrate on academics and forces students to spend time and mental energy figuring out how to afford their next meal. In response, most of Colorado’s colleges and universities maintain food pantries, mobile markets, and other services to help students who need food.

At CSU Pueblo, the Pack Pantry takes a different approach. It’s open to everyone: students, faculty, staff, and even community members from Colorado Springs who make the drive. That’s the strategy. When everyone walks through the doors, there’s less shame for those who need it most.

“If the faculty uses it and then they meet a student who was having a hard time, then they could inform them of the Pack Pantry,” said Celeste Molina, assistant director of the Migrant Education Services, who volunteers with the pantry.

A professor who shops there can personally recommend it to a struggling student without it feeling like charity. It flips the traditional thinking about who deserves help.

The pantry moved from a tucked-away spot downstairs in the Occhiato Student Center to its current visible location in next to SLICE and The Center, specifically to be seen. Every Friday, volunteers unload thousands of pounds of donated food from Care and Share, Pueblo’s food bank partner. By Monday, the shelves start looking empty.

“They take anything that we put in there, it’s gone,” Molina said.

Pack Pantry operates on choice rather than limits. Students choose their own food items instead of receiving pre-packed boxes, and nobody asks for an ID or questions about income. What works for their lives matters, whether that’s fresh eggs and milk, diapers, or grab-and-go snacks.

Cura said some of her classmates hesitate. They say others are in higher need. But Victoria Obregón, the Director of Migrant Access Education Services, helped her understand why.  

“You are a part of this population that needs this. You are a college student,” Cura recalled being told. “You can use these resources.”

Granola bars that cost five or six dollars at the store add up fast when juggling tuition, rent, and gas. Being a college student is a qualification enough.

The pantry draws its largest crowd from ages 17 to 35, according to monthly tracking reports. What matters most isn’t who uses the pantry most often, but creating an environment where accessing it feels normal rather than desperate.

“After the second time that I did it, I was telling everybody, ‘you should sign up for the pantry,’” Cura said about telling her classmates.

Sometimes the best way to help students who need food is to make sure everyone feels welcome taking it.