At the University of Tennessee, student retention is at an all time high of 92%. This means that more first-year students returned for their second year on campus than ever before. One Student Life office contributing to this success in a very specific way is the Center for Basic Needs.
In spring 2023, the Hope Center’s Student Basic Needs Survey found that 59% of students experienced at least one form of basic needs insecurity over the past year, with 36% reporting limited or uncertain food availability and nearly half facing housing instability. Responding to this, the Center for Basic Needs has become a crucial resource on campus, helping students overcome barriers and stay focused on their studies.
The Center for Basic Needs operates several programs on campus aimed at creating paths of access for students to obtain the resources they need while facing food insecurity, housing insecurity, or other basic needs challenges while also reducing the stigma around needing basic needs support. One aspect of the center’s outreach on campus is the Big Orange Pantry, a shopper-centered food pantry on campus with four dispersed locations and an intentional design that creates a relational, community atmosphere rather than a transactional one.
Together with the Office of Institutional Research and Strategic Analysis, and Student Life Effectiveness, the Center for Basic Needs recently worked on an assessment project to understand the retention and graduation metrics for students who used the Big Orange Pantry during the 2023–2024 academic year.
Essentially, the team looked at all pantry shoppers and compared them to non-shoppers and analyzed whether they were retained or graduated at similar or better rates. The team found that while non-users of the Big Orange Pantry were retained at a rate of 75.1%, pantry users were retained at a rate of 76.5%. When graduating students are included, the comparison to non-users is even higher, with 94.3% of undergraduates who used the pantry either graduating or being retained at UT while 92.5% of non-users graduated or were retained.
“The research tells us that students experiencing food insecurity are at-risk for discontinuing their studies and unenrolling,” says Blake Weiss, director of the Center for Basic Needs.
“We would anticipate that the Big Orange Pantry serves as an intervention for those students, making their retention and graduation rates the same as non-users of the pantry. But to see that those retention rates are even higher than the general student population tells us that not only does this specific intervention work, it works really well.”
Weiss attributes some of the pantry’s success to the intentional work of the entire pantry team, which includes three professional staff members and nine student employees, to create a community space that contributes to a sense of mattering and belonging for the Volunteers that need this resource.
The Big Orange Pantry also serves as a doorway to many other resources and services provided by the Center for Basic Needs. From long-term solutions to food and other basic needs insecurities to one-time assistance, the center has a robust set of programs that support students holistically.
Feeling a sense of belonging on campus is a critical aspect of working with many student populations. Weiss notes that some of these populations also have compounding characteristics that impact overall student success metrics, such as being a first-generation student or eligible for needs-based financial assistance. For these student groups, using the Big Orange Pantry contributes to even higher retention and graduation rates.
93.3% of first-generation undergrad pantry users were retained compared to 88% of first-generation non-users.
91.3% of undergrad pantry users eligible for Pell grants were retained compared to 88% of non-users eligible for Pell grants.
93.5% of pantry users from traditionally marginalized identities were retained compared to 90.5% of non-users.
Weiss also notes that 94.7% of all undergraduate or graduate students who used the Big Orange Pantry during the 2023–2024 academic year either graduated or were retained. While this correlation is exciting, it’s important to acknowledge that many factors contribute to the higher retention and graduation rates among pantry users. However, the pantry’s support certainly plays a role in helping students feel secure and focused on their studies.
When asked to share how the Big Orange Pantry contributes to their academic success, three students had the quotes below to share:
“By eating healthy, I don’t feel so worn out and have the energy to walk to all my classes and study for long periods of time.”
“Feeling hungry in class or having low energy because I haven’t eaten enough makes it hard to pay attention in class.”
“It has reduced the stress associated with financial strains, allowing me to better focus on my work at UT.”