The Store is GW’s student-run food pantry whose mission is to support students who face food insecurity and provide additional resources for them to thrive while at GW. Since the Store’s founding four years ago, it has expanded to provide perishable food, school supplies, and technology rentals. The Store operates on an honor system where students are able to take what they need, with more than 850 students visiting the store every semester.
This past year, a GW professor and his former student partnered to show their support for the Store. Steven V. Roberts, the J.B. and M.C. Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs, and his late wife Cokie Roberts, along with Ted Segal, BA ‘03, and his wife, Meredith Segal, B.Accy. ‘05, endowed the Roberts & Segal Fund for Food Security. Their gift enables the Store to broaden its food options and to continue supporting students for years to come.
Steven V. Roberts’ goal is to help students who face unexpected hardships. “These kids have no elasticity,” he says. “If one thing goes wrong, they’re plunged into a crisis. We have to do a better job of not only identifying those kids when they’re in crisis, but also then having a mechanism that can quickly help them.”
Likewise, Ted Segal understands the value of the Store. “This opportunity stood out to me as one that is so vitally important to students. There’s no more fundamental element than food security.”
As the Store continues to grow, GW seeks to expand its services to graduate students and the broader GW community.