Published: November 10, 2025
States and cities across the country are finding ways to address food insecurity as federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were delayed this month. At time of writing, the status of these payments in many states is still unknown, but this freeze has shined a light on significant needs in our own community. For the folks that run USM’s two food pantries, the SNAP pause is part of a larger problem – but they had a plan to address it this month. “SNAP Into Action” is a month-long food drive and team competition that started last week, encouraging students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community to donate food and other resources to the campus food pantries.
“Food insecurity has been on the rise,” said Gina Capra, who runs the Adult Student Success Center (ASSC) and one of USM’s on-campus food pantries. “November 1st was not the first day of this crisis.” Gina has a unique position on campus: supporting adult students (24+), their office is situated right next to the ASSC food pantry in Portland’s Glickman Family Library.
Over the past several months, they’ve seen this issue grow: as food prices climbed, those that usually donate food were able to donate less, more people needed food assistance, and those already in need had less available to them. Gina works closely with Sarah Farrugia, USM’s Campus Food Pantry & Food Security Coordinator, who runs the Oakhurst Community Food Pantry. As the surrounding community felt the squeeze of increasing food costs, donations slowed and pantry shelves were harder to fill. There was a desperation on people’s faces as food deliveries happened each week, with members of the community forming lines in front of the pantries on campus – concerned that the shelves would be empty by the time the limited supplies were gone. After week one of “SNAP Into Action,” though, Gina says that this desperation has been replaced with hope and relief: the community has indeed snapped into action. With 35 teams currently registered, made up of academic and administrative departments, clubs, social groups (and our very own Free Press), the competition is underway and having a very real impact.
After a very difficult year, many in the community are ready, willing, and excited to volunteer their time and resources. Gina believes that the frustration of this past year is a big reason people have so readily engaged with the food drive. “Things have been overwhelming recently,” they said, “and this feels like a really tangible way to step in and contribute to the community.” The people organizing this initiative – Gina, Sarah, and Anya Allain, a graduate student working at the Oakhurst Community Food Pantry – put in a tremendous amount of effort to plan and launch this initiative. With less than a week and a half between the initial conversations, the pitch, and the first day of the food drive, it’s impressive how much material was created for those wishing to participate. An email sent to USM’s community on October 31st included a toolkit for the event with social media materials, printable materials, a live leaderboard, and two documents with details about local “Foods and Basic Needs Resources” and a list of the top needs this drive is targeting (alongside general donations). Those top needs are items often missing from food and resource pantries: foods for folks with dietary restrictions (like allergy safe, gluten-free, low-sodium, and whole foods), toiletries and paper goods, both meal items and quick and easy foods, items for infants and children, and more.
Gina was also sure to highlight the incredible work that certain members of the community put into making this event happen. Library staff got a special shout-out, both as critical parts of the university’s food pantry infrastructure and for offering to be a drop-off location for teams bringing in their donations. Due to the distance between USM’s Portland Gorham, and Lewiston-Auburn campuses, libraries are designated as food pick-up locations for community members who are unable to make their way to the Portland food pantries. The School of Nursing also holds an early lead in the competition as of writing, with a staggering 140 pounds of food donated. Even members of the community struggling themselves are giving what surplus they have, be it food, resources, or their time and energy.
Talking about plans for the next year, Gina and the rest of the organizing team hope that this is just the beginning. The impact of food insecurity is felt year-round, but making “SNAP Into Action” a yearly tradition would commemorate a really special moment for this community. If you want to get involved, look for teams’ drop-off boxes all around campus, or stop by either food pantry on the Portland campus. The food pantries are also accepting monetary donations and purchases for their “Top Needs” list online. You can register your own team online: a pizza party, trophy, and bragging rights are up for grabs!
This event ends on November 25th, but the generosity can continue year-round. For additional information, you can contact Gina Capra at [email protected].
