As a new semester begins at USD, Charlie’s Cupboard opened up. Charlie’s Cupboard which began back in 2020, is a way to provide students with food outside of their meal plan and for students who stay at USD during Thanksgiving, winter, spring and summer breaks.
Charlie’s Cupboard provides non-perishable food and personal hygiene products to students with a current USD student ID on every second and third Thursday of the month from 4-7 p.m. Charlie’s Cupboard is a student initiative program supported by Unite for USD. Charlie’s Cupboard was chosen as Unite for USD’s student initiative spotlight for February.
Nathan Popp, president of Charlie’s Cupboard said that Charlie’s Cupboard received a new fridge and freezer last summer and are looking to add new items and expand their business hours.
“This last summer we got a pretty small fridge and freezer to try out fresh and frozen food and it’s been going really well. We’re going to probably get another fridge and another freezer, hopefully within the month,” Popp said. “We’re also always looking to increase the diversity of our food products because the student body at USD is very diverse and so we’re trying to meet the needs of as many students as we can.”
Charlie’s Cupboard currently has student organizations volunteer, such as different fraternities and sororities, the Honors Program, the College of Arts and Sciences, some of the athletic teams as well as the Math Club. They broke their record for the amount of money raised and number of donors that participated, and are looking to break that record again, Popp said.
Cassie Thompson, vice president of Charlie’s Cupboard, said they are currently looking for more organizations to help volunteer as well as donate inside and outside of USD.
“We are trying to partner with any student organizations we can or get anyone who wants to donate to the Cupboard to help out,” Thompson said. “We’re constantly looking for new partners in the community to be able to provide more stuff and find more diversity for our products.”
The organization is currently beginning to look at transitions for the new executive board with applications sent out two weeks ago. The closing date was Jan. 29, with interviews and the selection taking place after that.
Students who are unable to make it or feel uncomfortable with going to Charlie’s Cupboard can email the organization at Charliescupboard@usd.edu and provide a current student ID number and they will leave a bag at the front desk in the Muenster University Center for you to pick up. Charlie’s Cupboard is also open to donations.