Spectrum News: The Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center serves students year-round
Despite winter break, the need for food donations continues
The Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center at the University of Cincinnati, which opened in 2016, provides free food, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, diapers and wet wipes to students of all backgrounds with food and other insecurities.
It also provides the Career Closet, which offers free professional clothing to students who are preparing for interviews, internship experiences or professional classroom presentations.
Spectrum News recently featured a segment on the Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center.
UC Blue Ash and UC Clermont both have pantry services as well.
This semester, the Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center has served 1,847 users. It is open to students, faculty and staff. UC officials worked recently with Xavier University officials to raise awareness of food insecurity on local college campuses during a friendly fundraiser and awareness campaign known as the Crosstown Foodout.
Joy Kostansek, program coordinator of the BCP, and Daniel Cummins, associate dean of students, are shown stocking shelves in the Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center. Photo provided.
The campaign’s name occurred during the days leading up to and after the Crosstown Shootout, the well known rivalry between the men’s basketball teams at UC and Xavier University.
WLWT and Fox 19 both featured the Crosstown Foodout in recent segments.
The pantry is located in Stratford Heights, Building #16, on UC's Uptown campus, 2634 Stratford Ave., and operates as a walk-in service. There are two satellite locations on the Uptown campus in the College of Allied Health Sciences and the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services.
Please consider donating to the following to assist students:
Food, hygiene items and household goods
Gift cards for food and other emergency items
Healthy snack stipends
Dining hall passes
Professional clothing
Diapers, formula, wipes and other baby supplies for parents
Please follow @bearcatspantry on Instagram. Supporters can make a monetary donation or an Amazon Wish List purchase by visiting www.uc.edu/bcp. Donations will be accepted into 2024.
Featured image of the Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center. Photo by Lisa Ventre/UC Marketing + Brand.
Related Stories
Cincinnati sees record rainfall in weekend deluge
July 21, 2026
The Cincinnati Enquirer talks to UC College of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Professor Patrick Ray for context about a July 17 rainstorm that dumped a record amount of rain on parts of Cincinnati.
Putting preschool into perspective
July 20, 2026
Preschool and childcare can be difficult to navigate for parents, as Spectrum News 1 Ohio recently reported. Waitlists are long, and factors like cost, location and transportation can limit options. According to a recent study published by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, only 41% of 3- to 4-year-olds in Ohio were enrolled in preschool between 2020 and 2024 — a 4% decrease from pre-pandemic numbers. For University of Cincinnati early childhood education faculty member Chad Nunamaker, that statistic has caveats.
Engineering magnets for a cleaner future
July 20, 2026
The United States is heavily reliant on imported rare-earth materials to make permanent magnets. Ugochukwu Philip Ochieze, materials science student at the University of Cincinnati, is studying how to use common materials to create permanent magnets, eliminating the need for expensive and scarce rare-earth materials. Pursuing his PhD, Ochieze was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by the College of Engineering and Applied Science.