While many students are familiar with using conventional lockers to store their belongings, the Panther Community Care Center has introduced a different type of locker to the campus available for students to use: the food locker.
The PCCC is partnering with SUNY to increase accessibility to food on campus in an effort to combat food insecurity.
“We saw that different campuses were having this, and it was a bridge to support a need,” said Lajanee Colwin, social worker at the PCCC.
Food lockers are a form of parcel lockers that store food for its users. At Old Westbury, the lockers by Quadient, located outside of Room K-100 in the Campus Center, include a variety of refrigerated and non-refrigerated units and a kiosk screen that is used to retrieve items.
The process of using the food lockers starts with accessing the PantrySoft software by using the QR code posted on flyers or visiting the SUNY Old Westbury PantrySoft Portal online. Users must sign in using their SUNY Old Westbury credentials.
Students will then be able to view the inventory available and select the perishable or non-perishable items they’d like to order. The inventory includes various food items, from produce to canned goods to protein options. As the PCCC is a donation-based service, the inventory changes weekly.
After placing their order within 24 hours of their pick-up time slot, students can retrieve their food items on Wednesdays from 12 to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. and on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. from the lockers. Within each appointment time frame, 12 students can fulfill an order.
The pick-up windows expand on the PCCC’s weekly pantry shopping time of Tuesdays from 12 to 4 p.m. to help meet the needs of students. “We know that a lot of our student athletes and our non-traditional students cannot make our Tuesdays because sometimes they work or they have practice,” said Colwin. “It allows them more flexibility and more accessibility.”
The lockers, which launched in the beginning of the Fall 2026 semester, aim to help students feel secure and supported on campus.
“Food insecurity is one of the biggest indicators that there are other financial stressors going on,” said Colwin. “We have a lot of students who can't always meet that need and instead of having them stress about it, we want to help alleviate some of that stress.”
As a new resource on campus, the food lockers have a team working behind-the-scenes. Student interns play a key role in maintaining the food lockers and PantrySoft software. From inventory management to troubleshooting software to cleaning the lockers, the interns have supported the installation while gaining hands-on experience.
The food lockers will provide year-round support, as they will be available for use during the summer and winter sessions. In addition to food items, students may order hygiene products such as toilet paper, menstrual products, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant using PantrySoft.