Halfway through its first semester, the Food Pantry at Iowa has experienced exponential growth. Leaders of the pantry say they expect the numbers to continue to climb.

“Our first full month that we were open, in September, we had 27 visits. Now, in October, we have already more than doubled our visits for the month,” said Ben Marks, a co-director of the Food Pantry at Iowa. [Disclosure: Marks previously worked as a DI Metro editor.]

The pantry débuted this fall after approximately a year of planning and fundraising.

“I think we’ve grown pretty fast, which is pretty exciting for us,” said Sarah Ingwersen, a co-director of the Food Pantry. “But I don’t know if that’s necessarily surprising, because the survey we did showed that there was a need on campus.”

Next week, the pantry will change its hours for a wider accessibility for users.

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