By Hayden VanTuyl
The Scene staff
A Forest Park center that helps students with food, clothing and other basic needs is expanding this month.
The Student Advocacy and Resource Center is moving from a room off the cafeteria to a larger space on the second floor of West Wing.
Basic Needs Support Specialist Sandra Conley hopes to not only offer current assistance options but add new ones.
“We had to cut a housing assistance program that we offered earlier this year due to lack of funding, and we hope to bring that program and many others back to our student body,” she said.
The center, commonly known as SARC, partners with the St. Louis Area Food Bank to operate a mini food pantry. It also maintains a section with free, gently used clothing.
One of the center’s beneficiaries is applied science major Raphael Strain, 19, a second-year student in the apprenticeship electrician program.
Strain was referred to SARC by a friend. He typically stops by on Tuesdays, primarily to pick up food items and meet with friends.
“The Student Advocacy office provides a big help to a lot of students who need it and need the community,” he said.
“I wasn’t aware (of the move), but I’m happy they’re getting a bigger space and hopefully will be able to help more people.”
The center will move to West Wing Room 224 on Nov. 9. This comes ahead of a major cafeteria renovations this winter.
Food available at the center includes fruit, cereal, snacks and canned vegetables, as well as frozen and refrigerated items that can be microwaved.
The idea is to give students a “lifeline” to keep them on track with their personal and academic goals, according to Conley.
“Students are able to select two items from the food pantry cabinet and one item from the refrigerated section per day,” she said on a recent weekday as a line of students began to arrive.
Students can also shop in the clothing section, selecting items for daily wear, special occasions or job interviews, including suits and dresses.
For services that SARC can’t provide, referrals are available to St. Louis area assistance programs such as the Urban League and Catholic Charities of St. Louis.
“Many students also come to the SARC office just to socialize and see their friends,” Conley said. “Many people know each other.”