For both employees, the recent government shutdown and reduction of benefits provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was a unique opportunity to call attention to the need. According to Dare to Care, one in eight Americans rely on SNAP benefits, including co-workers, friends and neighbors. In Jefferson County alone, SNAP has supported more than 96,000 people and 45,000+ households per month.

One food drive in November that was organized by Lawson delivered four truckloads of donations to the La Casita Center and the Chestnut Street YMCA.Ìę

In addition, just in the month of November, various holiday initiatives were organized by athletics, the Cardinal Commuter Community, Bluegrass Student Collective, Graduate School, School of Music, School of Dentistry, College of łÉÈËֱȄ and Human Development, Department of Theatre Arts, Early Learning Center, Visitor Information Centers, parking and many more.

plays a pivotal role in all these efforts bringing departments together and setting the tone for collaboration. From hosting initial planning meetings to creating outreach materials and coordinating logistics, the team’s leadership amplifies the impact and demonstrates UofL’s commitment to supporting both internal and external community members.

“Our goal was to unite the Cardinal family in a way that showed the power of working together,” said Vice President for Community Engagement Douglas Craddock. “This drive was about more than donations—it was about building connections and supporting our neighbors during a challenging time.”

Lawson said she sees how UofL lives the community of care principle. “In the current environment, people in the world are just going their separate ways, but the Cardinal community has never worked like that. We know it takes a village, we need to stay a village and continue pulling together for one another and the broader community.”Ìę

Amanda Schweinzger, who grew up in a low-income household in Northern Kentucky, was inspired to start a drive and online fundraising campaign because she knew of people dealing with difficulty from the shutdown. “I could not just sit idly by,” she said. “I know what it’s like to struggle, what it’s like to get help from food pantries.”

Schweinzger, who started with her own department, grew the outreach from there. She decided to partner with Dare to Care, who supplies the , extending to the broader community and giving back to an organization that gives to UofL students year-round.

While physical donations are always appreciated, Dare to Care encourages monetary donations because they can fill in the gaps in what is needed most and can supply perishables such as fresh meat and produce. Every dollar donated to Dare to Care means two meals for needy families.

For her campaign, Schweinzger set up a and has already raised more than $500. Her goal is to bring in $1,000 by end of January 2026.

Schweinzger said in her experience as a student and now as an employee at UofL, she sees empathy and generosity as a common core value of the campus community. “They care about people, and the community around them, and they’re always willing to rise to the occasion.”

This year’s challenge builds up to the highly anticipated football showdown on Saturday, Nov. 29, at L&N Stadium in Louisville. As the Cardinals prepare to take on the Wildcats in this rivalry matchup, the Cards vs. Cats Challenge allows fans to rally behind their team while making a meaningful impact.

At UofL, funds raised will benefit the while at the University of Kentucky, gifts will support the Big Blue Pantry, both vital resources that provide students in need with canned goods, pantry staples and peace of mind that they won’t go hungry.

The university with the most donors by midnight on Dec. 2 will win the challenge, earning bragging rights and proving that their fans care deeply about supporting students in need.

How to Participate:

1. Visit .
2. Make a gift to support the Cardinal Cupboard.
3. Share your support on social media using #CardsVsCats.

This challenge is about more than rivalry, it’s about making a difference. Food insecurity is a growing concern on college campuses, and the Cardinal Cupboard ensures that students can focus on learning instead of worrying about their next meal.

Stay up to date on where UofL stands during the challenge by checking real-time results at . Whether you’re rooting for the Cards or the Cats, your support helps tackle food insecurity and make a lasting difference.

Senators voted to move the Anti-Racism Committee’s classification from “ad hoc” to “standing.” The formation of this standing committee was part of the presented by co-chairs Leondra Gully and Andrew Grubb in October’s Staff Senate meeting.

M. Rehan Khan, vice president of Information Technology Services and chief information officer, gave an update on the PeopleSoft HR software replacement. Oracle, the parent platform service of PeopleSoft, announced it will stop supporting the HR software in 2031. The system has presented challenges throughout many departments and the recommendation had been made to begin transitioning to a new HR software.

The ITS team worked diligently with the campus community over the last year by engaging over 77 stakeholders across 20 departments for feedback. They also conducted interviews with 14 higher education institutions using other software and negotiated prices among vendors. The result of their efforts showed overwhelming support for Workday HR Software.

Kahn reported that a recommendation to the provost and chief financial officer has been made in favor of selecting Workday as the replacement for PeopleSoft. The cloud-based HR software will be introduced to the university gradually in two-year phases, the first of which is set to begin in January 2021.

The implementation of the modern cloud-based system will improve upon the hiring process, reduce payroll calculation and processing errors, and upgrade security and system availability. Mary Alexander-Conte, director of disbursement services, stated, “it’s going to make our lives a lot easier, both internal to payroll and external to all of our departments.”

Senators received budget updates from Chief Financial Officer Dan Durbin. The university currently has a balanced budget and is slightly exceeding previous projections. Despite an overall positive trend, Durbin did express budgetary concerns with Athletics. Current health protocols and occupancy restrictions due to COVID-19 have led to a large decrease in ticket sales and revenue for athletic programs.

“We are working with them to make sure that they can fix their own problems. In other words, we do not want to move money from the academic enterprise to subsidize athletics,” Durbin said.Ìę

Numerous senators posed questions about the retirement cuts made earlier this year. Durbin commented that the recent changes will not be permanent, and that the student success and retention rate for the upcoming spring semester will heavily impact the university’s financial capabilities.

Durbin said, “Until we close the books in December and have a better picture of what spring enrollment looks like, we can’t make a decision on retirement and we can’t make a decision on the contingency.”

Senators also received information on the upcoming Cardinal Cupboard food drive from Senator Melissa Taylor. The Cardinal Cupboard, located within the Swain Student Activities Center, is a food pantry open to all university students, staff and faculty. An update will be provided to senators at a later date with the most requested items.ÌęTaylor stated the pantry accepts food donations as well as gift cards to grocery stores such as Kroger or Walmart. Physical donations are accepted through the mail and in person. Monetary donations can be made through their .

Committee reports and a full video recording of the virtual meeting can be found on the . ÌęThe next Staff Senate meeting will be held December 8 via Microsoft Teams.

The partnership will ensure that the pantry, , will have a wider array of healthful items to choose from.

Dare to Care will help stock the pantry with frozen proteins and fresh fruits and vegetables, along with some non-perishable items.

The partnership will round out the Cardinal Cupboard’s offerings of donated non-perishables and personal hygiene items, along with foods from the, which collects leftovers on campus such as bagels from Einstein Bagels and pastries from Starbucks.

“The real beauty of the partnership is access to the protein and veggies,” said Kathy Meyer, coordinator for Student Leadership and Service.

Meyer said Dare to Care also has provided food safety training to the volunteers.Ìę

“We’re learning so much through them; it’s a wonderful partnership,” she said. “It’s made such a difference in what we’re able to do here.”

The partnership was forged when UofL President Neeli Bendapudi connected with Dare to Care leadership at a community function.

Dare to Care partners with nearly 300 local social service agencies, such as food pantries, shelters and emergency kitchens to distribute food in the region.

“Our community founded Dare to Care 50 years ago and our community’s continuing passion to ensure everyone has the food they need to be healthy still fuels our ongoing innovations and new partnerships.ÌęIn this spirit, we are thrilled and honored to partner with the University of Louisville on this new endeavor that will improve the health and the future of so many who are struggling to have a bright future,” said Brian Riendeau, Dare to Care executive director.

The food pantry recently moved to SAC W314, a roomier and more centralized location. It now boasts a refrigerator that was donated by the Department of Theatre Arts.Ìę

The pantry is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. About 50 student volunteers staff the space, which is open to anyone on campus to take whatever they need.

Also beginning this semester, Aramark is donating 200 meal swipes (vouchers) to students in need. Students may apply for them through the . A committee will allocate the vouchers based on financial need.

Food insecurity has emerged a pressing issue in college campuses across the nation.

Last year, the federal government published aÌęÌęon college students and food insecurity, recommending colleges and state agencies do a better job providing information that would help eligible students obtain assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

UofL brought the topic to the forefront last year in awarding its Grawemeyer Award in łÉÈËֱȄ to Temple University’s Sara Goldrick-Rab. Her eye-opening research into the modern struggle to pay for college, published in her 2016 book, “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid and the Betrayal of the American Dream,” details students’ struggles with not only tuition and books, but also food insecurity, homelessness and lack of transportation. Her nonprofit research center, the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, studies these issues to improve the lives of what Goldrick-Rab calls “#RealCollege students.”

“I’m delighted to see University of Louisville students acting to support their classmates’ basic needs,” Goldrick-Rab said. “For far too long, insufficient food and poor housing marked college life, undermining a learning experience that should be immensely rewarding. Louisville is a welcome addition to this national movement.”

At the Cardinal Cupboard, volunteers keep track of how many pounds of food are taken. Within the first month of operation, 650 pounds of food, equaling about 670 meals, were taken.Ìę

For Ransdell, seeing students comfortably taking the food is the most rewarding part of the pantry.

“Being able just to see students being brave enough to come into a space that’s kind of unfamiliar and maybe uncomfortable at first to accept food as a gift … it makes my heart sing,” said Ransdell.

Check out her story below:Ìę

A partnership that the University of Louisville began with Goodwill Industries of Kentucky in 2016 has diverted thousands of pounds of items such as clothing, shoes, linens, decor, school supplies and non-perishable food from landfills. As part of the partnership, students in nine UofL dormitories are encouraged to put their unwanted end-of-year items in year-end donation bins rather than the trash. Food items are also donated to the .

From 2016 to 2018, UofL students have donated more than 18,000 pounds of items during the end-of-year “Lighten Your Load! Move-Out Waste Reduction” campaign. This year’s campaign ends May 1.

“The successful partnership provides a surge in spring donations for Goodwill Industries of Kentucky and, in turn, helps the university toward its goal of becoming a ,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives.

Goodwill Industries of Kentucky is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps with job training for those with disabilities and other disadvantages. According to its website, Goodwill diverts about 50 million pounds of items from Kentucky landfills every year.

“We are thrilled to partner with UofL during spring move outs. This initiative diverts thousands of pounds of items from landfills and provides donations to Goodwill that stay in local communities,” said Lennea Wooten, director of Retail for Goodwill industries of Kentucky. “These donations not only reduce waste but are also vital in Goodwill’s effort to provide critical employment services for people with disabilities or other challenges to finding and keeping a job.”

Located in SAC W303C, the pantry will offer a variety of donated non-perishable goods, hygiene products and recovered foods. The hours will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Tuesday, Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Efforts to open the food pantry began last summer when students on the began discussing the issue of food insecurity.ÌęThe Sustainability Council’s Free Store in Unitas Tower, offering no-cost clothing and household items as a way to encourage recycling, had been stocking some food items, but there wasn’t enough space for a full-fledged pantry.

Food insecurity is defined as “a lack of consistent access to healthy food options,” said Kathy Meyer, coordinator of student leadership and service and adviser to the Engage Lead Serve Board. “From our conversations, we shared general observations about the need for safe and easily accessible free food resources for students with limited funds. We also discussed opportunities to provide support and education about the importance of food sustainability and eliminating food waste on campus. As a group, we decided to focus on developing a campus food pantry, which the Student Government and the Engage Lead Serve Board were in full support of establishing.”

Last fall, . The network’s 230 nationwide chapters are aimed at combating hunger and food waste. As part of the network, students collected leftover food such as bagels from Einstein Bagels and delivered it to local food banks and shelters. The UofL chapter has recovered over 1,900 pounds of food, with some now going toward the food pantry.

Just last month, the federal government published a on college students and food insecurity, recommending colleges and state agencies do a better job providing information that would help eligible students obtain assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“In fiscal year 2017, the federal government spent over $122 billion in grants, loans and work-study funds through federal student aid programs to help make college accessible to students,” the study said. “This substantial federal investment in higher education is at risk if college students drop out because they cannot afford basic necessities like food.”

UofL brought the topic to the forefront last year in awarding its Grawemeyer Award in łÉÈËֱȄ to Temple University’s Sara Goldrick-Rab. Her eye-opening research into the modern struggle to pay for college, published in her 2016 book, “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid and the Betrayal of the American Dream,” details students’ struggles with not only tuition and books, but also food insecurity, homelessness and lack of transportation. Her nonprofit research center, the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, studies these issues to improve the lives of what Goldrick-Rab calls “#RealCollege students.”

“I’m delighted to see University of Louisville students acting to support their classmates’ basic needs” Goldrick-Rab said. “For far too long, insufficient food and poor housing marked college life, undermining a learning experience that should be immensely rewarding. Louisville is a welcome addition to this national movement.”