Colonel's Cupboard - Eastern Kentucky University

Colonel’s Cupboard

The Colonel’s Cupboard at Eastern Kentucky University provides a variety of resources to students who face food insecurity or financial distress, as part of the university’s commitment to ensuring students have what they need to succeed.

Items Available to Students

These items are available at no cost to students:

Fresh foods: dairy, eggs, vegetables, various frozen and refrigerated items
Pantry foods: canned foods, boxed foods, snack food items
Toiletry items: soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, feminine products
Clothing: available through Colonel’s Closet (located within the cupboard)

General Operations

The Colonel’s Cupboard is part of Community & Global Engagement services in the Center for Student Involvement. The day-to-day operations are overseen by an AmeriCorps member, who works with clients and volunteers throughout the work week.

University Breaks

During breaks where campus is closed, EKU Housing will keep food boxes on hand in designated residence halls that are open all year to ensure that students staying on campus have access to food if needed. These breaks include spring break, winter break, etc.

Service Opportunities

For students, faculty, and staff interested in volunteer opportunities, please reach out here to add email here

Cupboard History

The Colonel’s Cupboard opened in 2014 as an initiative of the Office of Student Life and First-Year Experience to address the food insecurity issues that students at Eastern Kentucky University faced. The Cupboard originally was housed in a small one bedroom apartment that was formally married and family housing. In 2016, the Cupboard was relocated to the second flood of Commonwealth Hall in the former Residence Hall Coordinator three bedroom apartment. This location had a larger space for more stock and is easier to access for students.

Donations were originally collected from various campus departments, students, and local partnerships. During the first year of operation, the Cupboard partnered with God’s Outreach and Grace Now food pantries in Richmond so that no student would go without food while the stock was increased. Today, the Cupboard is able to sustain itself with large-scale campus food drives and donations from several local churches. The partnerships with God’s Outreach and Grace Now continue so any excess food from campus drives are donated to these organizations, and students seeking more assistance can reach out.

During the 2018-2019 school year, a few changes were implemented. First, the Cupboard began offering clothing and toiletry items. Students now have full access to food, toiletry items, and clothing. Also, the Cupboard switched from offering food boxes only to a “shopping model” where students can come in the Cupboard and select the items that they need themselves. This model allows for client choice and better accommodates any food allergies students may have.

FAQs

1 in 6 EKU students experience food insecurity during the first semester on campus
21% of EKU students might need food assistance at some point during their college experience
10% of EKU students could benefit from regular food pantry assistance.

The Colonel’s Cupboard at Eastern Kentucky University is a service of Student Life that provides food, toiletries, and clothing to currently enrolled students of the University (full or part-time) who are in need. The Cupboard will provide any student, who is worried or concerned about food security with food, clothing, and toiletry items, as well as connect them to other local services to help with long term challenges they may be facing.

Food insecurity – defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people’s dietary needs – has been on the rise for the past several years. It touches all students – undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. WHO states food security is built on: 1. food availability (sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis); 2. food access (having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet; and 3. food use (appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care).

Individuals can fall on a spectrum of food security:

Food Secure – they know where there next meal will come from, and they have access to a nutritionally sustaining meal.
Marginally Food Secure – where although someone has access to food, they are experiencing anxiety about where there next meal may come from
Food Insecurity – where students are decreasing there food intake, skipping meals, or eating less nutritionally valuable meals due to external forces (for example, working less hours at work due to illness, a change in employment, or a veterans benefit check not arriving when it was scheduled to).

It is a fact that brain function and nutrition are linked. Improper or insufficient nutrition leads to a lack of energy and concentration. You cannot be at your academic best if you’re hungry! And you can’t live solely on coffee and energy drinks!

Spring 2026 Hours

Monday – Friday
Appointments: 8:30am – 11:00am

Walk-in Hours: 11am – 5:00pm

Spring Break Hours:
The Colonel’s Cupboard will have limited hours during spring break. Students living on campus can reach out to housing & RAs for food bags if needed. We will have open walk-in hours Monday & Wednesday from 11am-2pm. If you need any assistance, and are unable to visit during walk-in hours or request a food bag, please email colonelscupboard@eku.edu or fill out the “request assistance” form linked on this page.

Please be sure to check our hours before visiting, or submit a request for an appointment to confirm when the cupboard is available. During walk-in hours, students may go directly to Powell 215 to visit the cupboard. Appointments MUST arrive at Powell 013 to be escorted to the Cupboard.

Contact Information

Colonel’s Cupboard

Powell Building
Room 013

colonelscupboard@eku.edu